N.W.T. wildfires causing partial highway closures, stretching resources
CBC
N.W.T. wildfires have caused a temporary closure to parts of Highway 1.
The highway is closed between kilometers 553 and 690, between Fort Simpson and Wrigley.
The territory's Department of Infrastructure said it would provide updates as they become available.
The Ndulee Ferry at the Mackenzie River is also only operating for southbound traffic. In a tweet Wednesday night, Infrastructure said northbound operations will resume when it's safe to do so.
Six new wildfires were reported between Wednesday and Thursday, all of them in the South Slave region.
Three of the recent fires were "out of control," according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) wildfire update page.
Those fires include one blaze about 14 kilometres south of Fort Providence, one about 1 kilometre north of Highway 1, just past the 210-kilometre marker, and one fire about 36 kilometres from Kakisa, 3 kilometres east of the highway.
Despite these fires being labelled "out of control" ENR noted that no cabins, communities or infrastructure are currently at risk.
Crews also responded to two new fires on Meridian Island near Fort Providence, one at the north end of the island and the other at the south.
Mike Westwick, N.W.T. wildfire information officer, said ENR is "relatively confident" the the department has "good control" of the fire on the south of the island, and has "made significant progress" on the northern fire.
Westwick appeared on CBC's The Trailbreaker with Loren McGinnis Thursday morning.
All six of the recent fires are thought to have been caused by lightning. However, Westwick noted that a number of this season's 96 wildfires have been caused by people, "which [is] always a significant problem for any wildfire service, because you're dealing with fires that are totally preventable."
Westwick pointed to the recent fire by Vee Lake just outside Yellowknife.
He said the department is still investigating the fire's cause, though it suspects the fire was the result of bear bangers.