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The NWT government has now imposed fire restrictions on almost the entire South Slave and Dehcho regions.
From Friday until at least May 24, people in the Dehcho are banned from using open fire outdoors, including in fire pits or burn barrels.
On Saturday, the GNWT introduced the same ban in the South Slave until at least May 17.
You can’t fire a gun with incendiary or tracer ammunition, shoot exploding targets, launch fireworks, or ignite flares or bear bangers unless in an emergency.
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Burn permits are cancelled while the restrictions are in effect.
You can use closed stoves, barbecues and furnaces.
“The use of fire for exercising Aboriginal or treaty rights by Indigenous peoples is exempt from these restrictions,” NWT Fire stated.
The restrictions apply to all public and private land in the Dehcho and South Slave that isn’t federally governed, including the Dehcho communities of Fort Liard, Fort Simpson, Jean Marie River, Nahanni Butte, Sambaa K’e and Wrigley, and the South Slave communities of Fort Providence, Fort Resolution, Fort Smith, Hay River, Kakisa, the K’átł’odeeche First Nation and Salt River First Nation.
“These bans are being implemented due to extreme wildfire danger and extraordinary weather conditions. These restrictions are intended to help protect communities, values at risk and our wildfire firefighters by limiting avoidable person-caused fires,” NWT Fire wrote on Friday.
Sweeping, region-wide restrictions were rarely if ever used by the GNWT in this manner until last summer, when multiple regions had full fire bans implemented to try to contain an extraordinarily severe fire season at a time when NWT Fire had no resources left to attack new starts.
