Volunteers ‘furious and disturbed’ over fire at tent encampment

A fire burned the personal belongings, tent and pad of two Yellowknifers living in a wooded area near the legislature. The people who built the tent pad believe it was arson.

Cabin Radio was unable to independently verify the cause of Saturday’s fire, which prompted the closure of a nearby road and a significant emergency response.

The City of Yellowknife and NWT Fire haven’t commented on what may have started the fire, though the territory’s wildfire agency lists it as human-caused. The city said in a statement that firefighters had “found a prebuilt tent pad burning, with fire extending to the vegetation.”

John Keknek and his partner, Marilyn, were both at work when the fire burned their belongings on Saturday, said Georgina Franki, who has helped lead efforts to establish a tent encampment in the area.

“They really love that spot. They really like the way they were living there and it was really motivating them to pick themselves up by the bootstraps and go on their healing journey,” said Dingeman van Bochove, owner of Summit Roofing in Yellowknife, who has donated materials and labour to the encampment project.

Van Bochove said he was “furious that somebody has the guts to do this to somebody that is so vulnerable.”

The couple believes the fire was lit intentionally but has no idea who might have done that, according to Van Bochove.

“What else can it be?” said Van Bochove. “They were not even there when the fire happened. That’s why, to me, it can only be somebody putting the place on fire.”

“It’s very disheartening and my heart hurts,” said Franki. “I’m not exactly sure what the point is. I’m hurting. I was disturbed for the last few days.”

“This is a case of arson, not reckless use of the area,” Van Bochove said. “It has nothing to do with the behaviours of the people that live there.”

When Yellowknifers have lost their homes in the past, Van Bochove says he has seen his community rally to support people in their time of need. He says this case is no different, and hopes to see residents support John and Marilyn as they work to recover their losses.

“This is somebody’s home that burned,” said Van Bochove. “It’s really tragic just to lay eyes on it.”

Consequences of fire

Speaking with Cabin Radio when the tent encampment project began, Keknek had expressed excitement and was planning where his own pad might be built.

Franki, who has advocated for an encampment as a safe alternative for Yellowknifers who are evicted from other parts of the city, said on Tuesday that the tent pads are only safe “if the public doesn’t set the tent on fire because it’s unsightly for them.”

Van Bochove has previously hired Keknek to help at Summit Roofing and had planned to bring him back on this week, but said that will be postponed as he imagines Keknek now “has some other stuff on his mind.”

He worried a fire like this “could be a big mental blow for somebody that is vulnerable” and that people might assume the fire was started accidentally by the couple, possibly damaging their ability to find shelter elsewhere. He also worries the tent pad burning gives “fuel to authorities to shut this initiative down.” Multiple levels of government have warned of the prospect of a wildfire starting in the area.

“We grew up in a tent when there was no houses,” said Franki, who herself spent years living in a tent. “There’s no safety issue,” she said.

Since the fire, volunteers have replaced the tent and wooden pad for the couple, who plan to continue to live there. (They could not be reached for comment. Van Bochove said they were recovering from the events of the weekend.)

“We’re not going to let this slide and let him be on his own,” said Van Bochove of Keknek. “We’ll support him obviously through all this.”

Keknek, originally from Gjoa Haven, previously told Cabin Radio the daily violence at Yellowknife’s downtown shelters is why he sleeps in a tent rather than staying elsewhere. It gives him somewhere to go, he said at the time, to get away from things when other people become too much to handle.

“John is pretty clear that he wants to live out in nature. He’s not looking for emergency housing. This is his way that he feels is best for him,” said Van Bochove.

“Leave the people alone there. Just give this project a chance to work.”

Franki hopes the fire is investigated “instead of just letting it go,” as a message to residents that homeless Yellowknifers matter.

“The government needs to take immediate, emergency measures instead of trying to stop what is being done for the tent encampment,” she said.