Firefighters say they have extinguished an “incredibly irresponsible” abandoned campfire near Cameron River Crossing Territorial Park, east of Yellowknife.
The campfire evolved into a fire serious enough to receive its own wildfire designation, ZF008.
Cameron River Crossing is about a 40-minute drive east of Yellowknife. The fire was found 1.5 km east of the crossing.
NWT Fire, which reported ZF008’s existence on Monday evening, said this was the “second time this season” firefighters had needed to extinguish a fire in these circumstances.
“The fire was left unattended with camping equipment nearby. It is incredibly irresponsible to leave a campfire site without fully extinguishing the fire, as this is a common cause of wildfires started by people,” the territory’s wildfire agency stated.
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“It is vital to hold yourself, your friends, and your family accountable for practising fire safety on the land.”
There were no other new fires reported on Sunday.
Fire FS011, 22 km northwest of Fort Simpson, has been brought under control and crews are working to fully extinguish it, NWT Fire stated.
A fire line has been finished at the top of a mountain to stop fire FS007, 18 km northeast of Wrigley, from spreading westward.
Crews are “now moving to the valley floor to establish their position and continue working to keep the fire north of Hodgins Creek,” NWT Fire stated.
“Heavy equipment is working to widen the community fireguard at the edge of Wrigley, nearly doubling its size and making significant progress. Community protection efforts are ongoing, with most lines nearly finished and sprinkler systems in place throughout town.”
