SA国际影视传媒

Skip to content

Battle against South Slave wildfire continues

The wildfire on the KSA国际影视传媒檃tlSA国际影视传媒檕deeche First Nation (KFN) continues to rage out of control as of Monday afternoon and crews are still doing whatever they can to try and mitigate the spread.
32800707_web1_230524-HAY-FireUpdate-KFN_1
The area in yellow is the size of the wildfire, which is still classified as SA国际影视传媒榦ut of controlSA国际影视传媒 by NWT Fire. There is still no fire in Hay River itself, but evacuees wonSA国际影视传媒檛 be allowed back home for some time yet. Image courtesy of GNWT

The wildfire on the KSA国际影视传媒檃tlSA国际影视传媒檕deeche First Nation (KFN) continues to rage out of control as of Monday afternoon and crews are still doing whatever they can to try and mitigate the spread.

The latest update from NWT Fire indicated that the blaze was last mapped at a little more than 3,200 hectares in size and there is still no fire within the town limits of Hay River.

Cooler temperatures on Monday were expected and that made the ground cooler, according to the update, which gave crews battling the fire a chance to make some headway before activity was expected to pick up.

While it was cooler, the one thing crews didnSA国际影视传媒檛 get was rain, which kept the air dry. The plan on Monday was for crews to try and hold the lines along the southeast flank and the southern side of the fire. That would limit the growth of the blaze toward Highway 5 and Hay River itself. Air support was continuing as needed with that. Structure protection was ongoing on Monday with crews from both the town and KFN helping out where it could.

A dozer line defence can be seen in the bottom of this photo taken over the wildfire on May 20. Photo courtesy of GNWT
A dozer line defence can be seen in the bottom of this photo taken over the wildfire on May 20. Photo courtesy of GNWT

On Sunday, crews were working to protect the northeast corner of the fire near the Old Village on the reserve. Vegetation was burned off near Sandy Creek Lodge, which would make the lodge less affected by any fire. Dozer lines were also improved to help protect Hay River.

Crews were also busy widening dozer lines on the KFN access road, nearly reaching the end at the junction.

Close to 150 firefighters are working on containing the blaze.

Evacuees from the town and reserve were planning on spending a few more days away from home in various communities. The state of emergency The majority of those who were forced out of their homes are in Yellowknife, while some have found shelter in Enterprise and Fort Providence.

Patrick Bergen, Hay RiverSA国际影视传媒檚 assistant senior administrative officer, said that there are still people evacuating to Yellowknife.

Those who choose to stay, though, are putting themselves in danger.

SA国际影视传媒淭here were another four people from Hay River and Enterprise that took the bus to Yellowknife (Sunday),SA国际影视传媒 he said. SA国际影视传媒淭here are some people that have not evacuated SA国际影视传媒 I canSA国际影视传媒檛 confirm the number yet SA国际影视传媒 who do not have any supports and are a risk to the responders that are focused on the fire.SA国际影视传媒

Bergen also said there hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 been any consideration taken on the townSA国际影视传媒檚 part in forcing those who are staying to evacuate.

Virtually all of the townSA国际影视传媒檚 businesses have shut, but Super A Foods is remaining open on reduced hours to provide food and necessities for fire crews. Fields is also operating on a reduced-hours basis. The hospital, pharmacy and any other municipal service are not operating, said Bergen.

Bergen also confirmed that elderly patients have been safely evacuated from the area and are receiving support whenever itSA国际影视传媒檚 needed.

Hay River and the townSA国际影视传媒檚 fire department have been working around the clock in town, he added.

SA国际影视传媒淭he has been providing 24-hour coverage throughout,SA国际影视传媒 he said. SA国际影视传媒淭he fire department has monitored the fire 24/7 since the beginning and worked on mitigation measures, such as setting up sprinklers for at-risk homes and banks that may ignite if there is an ember that travels across the river. The embers have landed and been put out a number of times.SA国际影视传媒





(or

SA国际影视传媒

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }