Crews to ‘pull back and reassess’ as Watta Lake fire intensity grows

NWT Fire is changing strategy and warning people with property in the area as two wildfires some 70 km east of Yellowknife grow in intensity.

On Thursday evening, the territory’s wildfire agency said crews tackling fires ZF011 and ZF024 “had to be pulled back from direct attack on these fires because fire intensity reached a point where it was unsafe under these intense winds.”

ZF011 is burning at the east end of Watta Lake. Just to the north, ZF024 has burned an area from the south end of Campbell Lake toward Watta Lake.

NWT Fire said crews are still working to protect property in the area that “could be at threat over the coming days,” prioritizing values that could be affected first.

The agency said it had “informed values owners on some parts of Watta, Campbell, and Hearne Lakes the recommendation to look at leaving shortly due to potential fire impacts.”

“We plan to use sprinklers to mitigate potential losses as under the fire behaviour we’ve seen today, air tankers have been ineffective – again, why we needed to pull back and reassess our strategy,” NWT Fire stated.

“We understand this is an extremely stressful time for those who have values which could be at threat. We are using the tools in our arsenal to protect what matters to them.”

The City of Yellowknife introduced a fire ban for the municipality itself on Wednesday, though a small fire that required helicopter attention within the city a day later was said by NWT Fire to have been person-caused.

Though a little rain was falling over the city on Thursday evening, fire danger is currently considered to be extreme in and around Yellowknife.

Friday is expected to bring more showers, with a four-day stretch of sunny and relatively warm weather afterward.