Alberta fire crews challenged fighting Reid Lake wildfire

As a 320-thousand hectare wildfire near Reid Lake, Northwest Territories continues to burn, 39 firefighters from Alberta are getting an up-close look at the territory, for better and for worse.

Jordan Sykes is a firefighter with the Peace River Unit crew, and has been fighting fires for five summers all over Alberta. Syke's 20-man crew are halfway through their 14-day shift, and are situated on the perimeter of the fire, making sure it doesn't move west or north on the control lines.

During his shift in the North, Sykes says he's been working in conditions he's never experienced before. 

"We don't have the Canadian Shield in Alberta," he says. "So we don't have all the rocky terrain.

"It's a little easier walking, the trees are a little more thinned out, but it's hilly terrain and it's really hot on the rocks all day."

According to Sykes, the conditions in the Northwest Territories are some of the driest he's seen.

"It's really the drought where you see the fire behaviour change when its like this," he says. "The fire burns really deep, and it holds for a very long time in the ground, so areas that have burned a week ago are still burning today, and they are just moving deeper and deeper in the ground.

"It's actually the deepest I've ever seen fires burn. I'm quite amazed."

Firefighters take advantage of campground command centre

The Reid Lake campground is currently the incident command centre for crews battling the wildfire. Firefighters have been camped out on site for a week, and will continue to work from the campground until the situation improves. 

After a long 12-hour shift, it's a common site to see the visiting firefighters swimming in Reid Lake and lounging in hammocks at the campsite.

"It's been nice to be up here with lots of lakes everywhere and lots of sun late into the evenings," says Sykes. "We get to spend some time at the water and just go for a swim, go fishing a little bit, see what it's like up in the Northwest Territories. That's actually been a great way to relax and pass time after work." 

Over 100 crews and personnel from the Northwest Territories continue to try and contain the fire, including an Incident Management Team, 17 fire crews, values-at-risk protection unit, air support from tankers, and seven helicopters.