How the NWT is preparing for the 2026 wildfire season

With the 2026 wildfire season on the horizon, NWT Fire officials say the territory is preparing some improvements to the way it responds.

“We do a lot of work over the winter” to learn lessons from previous fire seasons, new NWT wildfire operations manager Jason Currie told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

For example, Currie said, NWT Fire has “aggressively” pursued a recommendation to increase fire behaviour knowledge within its staff and has also trained more safety officers.

This year, he said, the territory will have 35 wildfire crews – up from 34 last year – and will employ more than 100 specialists and support staff alongside 12 air tankers and seven long-term contracts for helicopters. He added the territory can request additional support if needed.

NWT Fire’s Mike Westwick said the territory has been working to strengthen fire services in communities and improve interagency cooperation in line with recommendations from a review of the 2023 wildfire season.

Last year, Westwick said, the GNWT delivered basic training on wildfires and structure protection to seven community fire departments. He said the territory aims to deliver that training to nine more fire departments in 2026.

“This work makes a big difference,” he said, giving the example that the training was delivered to fire departments in Fort Providence and Whatì before the communities were affected by wildfire last summer.

“We were able to shake hands quick and get to work together, shoulder to shoulder, using all of our expertise and knowledge within these communities and in the fire services to operate more effectively.”

Westwick said for this wildfire season, NWT Fire has purchased two additional structure protection units – used to rapidly deploy sprinklers and structure protection equipment – meaning it now has a total of seven.

The territory also provided funding for two municipal fire departments to have structure protection units, he said, and is developing an air portable unit that can be deployed in remote communities.

NWT Fire expects another challenging season

Nationwide forecasts have predicted a possible late start to this year’s boreal wildfire season, and Currie said NWT Fire expects the season to likely start in mid to late May for much of the NWT.

Once it gets rolling from June to August, however, he said residents should prepare for another challenging wildfire season that could stretch well into the fall.

“We’re welcoming the late season but going into the summer, its probably going to be a normal fire season,” Currie said.

“We’re going to be dealing with the drought once again, which is really abnormal for us, but lately, our fire seasons have gone from a two-month season to half a year.”

Currie said with drought conditions, wildfires are burning deeper into the ground and becoming harder to put out.

Fires outside Fort Providence and Whatì have continued burning underground over the winter, he said. NWT Fire plans to conduct high-level infrared scans to detect hotspots in those areas, as well as near Jean Marie River and Fort Liard.

Expanding Firesmart

On the wildfire mitigation front, Westwick said since a relaunch of Firesmart in the territory last year, more than 100 home assessments have been completed and more are expected this year.

He said fire departments in Fort Smith, Tulita, Fort Simpson, Yellowknife, Norman Wells and Inuvik are now able to deliver those programs locally.

Westwick further highlighted community-based Firesmart projects being funded through a program the territory launched in April 2025.

He said, for example, that Inuvik has hired a full-time Firesmart and wildland-urban interface coordinator as part of a pilot project. He said they will support the town and other communities in the Beaufort Delta with wildfire preparedness and planning.

Westwick called on residents across the NWT to Firesmart their properties, especially cabins in remote areas that may be difficult for firefighters to reach.

“We know from decades of research that it makes a big difference,” he said, adding that the wildfire agency will not put firefighters in unsafe situations to protect homes or cabins.