N.W.T., Yellowknife upping protection as city is surrounded by wildfires
CBC
While winds blowing northwest have slowed the threat of the wildfire burning between Behchokǫ, N.W.T.,̀ and Yellowknife, they've also pushed a separate fire closer to Dettah.
Over the weekend, the City of Yellowknife began clearing fire breaks to the west.
Sheila Bassi-Kellett, the city's manager, said its plan is to set up primary, secondary and tertiary breaks and install sprinklers in areas at risk.
"I just really want to stress that these are precautionary measures we're taking as a safeguard because it is so dry out there and we really want to make sure that we do everything we can," she said.
Crews are focused on the areas around the sewage lagoon, Deh Cho Boulevard, behind the Engle industrial district and the trail west of the sandpits.
"We know that our vulnerability does come from the west and southwest part of our community when it comes to wildfire," said Bassi-Kellet, referring to the city's fire protection plan.
"What we're seeing now is that wind patterns are a little different. We're getting more westerly winds this year. That's been a reality for us and that raised the potential for threat."
The city is using some of its own sprinklers from the fire and parks department. It's also expecting trailers with 100 sprinklers each to arrive from Alberta on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the city announced it would continue to waive fees for residents to access the indoor track and playground at the Fieldhouse when Environment Canada's Air Quality Health Index is at seven or higher.
Bassi-Kellett said the city wants to "ramp up actions" within city limits that will complement and reinforce work that N.W.T. government wildfire fighters are doing.
On Monday, N.W.T. Fire proceeded with controlled burns to try and control the fire along Highway 3.
Mike Westwick, fire information officer, said the burns are about 60 per cent complete and successful so far.
The goal, he said, was to "influence the fuels that are in front of [the fire] now and ignition operation was necessary in order to burn off vegetation in the fire's way."
Those ignition operations closed Highway 3 between Behchokǫ̀ and Yellowknife for nearly eight hours on Monday.
The Rachel Notley government's consumer carbon tax wound up becoming a weapon the UCP wielded to drum the Alberta NDP out of office. But that levy-and-repayment program, and the wide-ranging "climate leadership plan" around it, also stood as the NDP's boldest, provincial-reputation-altering move in their single-term tenure.