N.W.T. highways reopen but fire risk remains

N.W.T. highways 3 and 6 reopened Sunday, restoring traffic to Yellowknife and Fort Resolution, but that's about where the good news ends for the territory's forest fire situation.

The fire hazard across the Deh Cho, North Slave and South Slave regions remains high to extreme, said Judy McLinton, a spokeswoman with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"For many of the crews working it was like they never went away for the winter," she said. "We are very, very dry, especially in the southern part of the N.W.T.... so the fire behaviour is extreme and we have not gotten a lot of rain here."

The public is being asked to stay away from the Pine Point area between Hay River and Fort Smith, where the fires of the Swampy Lakes complex continue to burn. Campers were told to move out of the area Saturday.

Paradise burning

"We have an incident command team on there and they're going to be assessing that complex today and coming up with a plan," McLinton said. Another team is assessing the Paradise Complex 24 kilometres south of Hay River today, and plans for a burnout operation are in the works.

Ground crews and air tankers continue to fight fires in the Antoine Lake complex, 35 kilometres from Fort Simpson. And in the North Slave, a major fire is burning on both sides of Highway 3 70 kilometres south of Behchoko. The department warns that visibility on highways is reduced and roads could close at any time.

Northwestel on Sunday said its fibre optic and telephone cables running alongside Highway 3 were at risk from fire. In a news release, the company said no services have been interrupted yet, and that it will send crews to examine the lines when it's safe.

People with property in remote areas are also being urged to register their properties at NWTfire.com, so crews know what's at risk if new fires break out. Owners are also asked to clear trees and brush away from buildings as much as possible, McLinton said.

"We're asking people to be very, very cautious if they're out on the land and using fire," she said.