The City of Yellowknife has issued a mandatory ban on open-air burning within the municipality, including the use of approved fire pits.
In a public notice on Thursday, the city said its fire chief, Nelson Johnson, implemented the ban due to very dry conditions and a forecast of minimal rain.
The territorial government currently forecasts fire danger to be extreme or high across the North Slave, with the risk remaining extreme in Yellowknife until at least Saturday.
The territory has similarly forecast high to extreme fire danger in the South Slave, where the GNWT recommends not lighting fires unless necessary.
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The fire danger forecast is low to medium in the Dehcho and Sahtu, and low in the Beaufort Delta.
According to the territory’s live wildfire map, there are six active wildfires burning across the NWT: four in the Dehcho and one each in the Sahtu and South Slave. So far this year, 14 fires have together burned 1,413 hectares.
The fire ban in Yellowknife will remain in effect until further notice.
