A bonfire and fireworks designed to welcome the sun back to Inuvik after a month’s absence won’t go ahead as planned because of the extreme cold weather.
On Thursday, Inuvik’s fire department said it had made the “difficult decision to postpone” the Inuvik Sunrise Festival’s Saturday bonfire and fireworks display.
The fire department attributed the decision to the weather.
Temperatures in the town have hovered around or below -40C for each of the past five days.
While Saturday’s forecast calls for a high of -32C, the fire department said the temperatures still represented a danger.
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“Our technicians feel that the risk to our personnel from brittle fireworks mortar tubes is too great and we will always defer to safety,” the fire department stated.
“We love the fireworks display and bonfire, and promise it will be held in the coming weeks with ample notice to the community.”
There was no suggestion that the remainder of the Inuvik Sunrise Festival schedule is affected.
After a month of darkness, celebrations begin on Friday evening with a glow-in-the-dark skate and Taste of Inuvik sampler at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex, then continue throughout Saturday and Sunday.
