Holdover fire near Dettah likely started from abandoned campfire, NWT Fire says

CBC
·1 min read
NWT Fire warns against leaving campfires unattended after a fire spotted near Dettah is thought to be the result of an abandoned campfire. The fire information officer says fire season is here and urges residents to do their part. (Andrew Pacey/CBC - image credit)
NWT Fire warns against leaving campfires unattended after a fire spotted near Dettah is thought to be the result of an abandoned campfire. The fire information officer says fire season is here and urges residents to do their part. (Andrew Pacey/CBC - image credit)

NWT Fire says it's seeing campfires left unattended in the Yellowknife area and that even though there's still some ice on the lakes, those fires pose serious risk.

"It is so discouraging to see this sort of thing – especially after what was experienced last year," N.W.T. wildfire information officer Mike Westwick said in an emailed fire update.

Westwick said crews saw that threat in action with a fire spotted near Dettah that NWT Fire suspects started from a campfire and was abandoned over winter

That fire, ZF001, is about 10 kilometers south of Dettah and less than one hectare large.

It's one of two fires discovered Monday, along with an approximately three hectare fire in the South Slave. That fire was detected about seven kilometres south of Tathlina Lake and about 50 kilometers from Kakisa.

There are a total of five active fires in the territory as of Tuesday morning. Westwick said that no cabins, communities or infrastructure is at risk from any of those fire.

Westwick said throughout the Dehcho and South Slave, drought and high temperatures are creating extreme fire danger.

"Fire season is here," he said. "We really need everybody to be doing their part to be holding themselves and others accountable for how they use fire on the land."

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Northern Lights to be visible again soon, space forecasters say

    Dazzling displays lit up the night sky last week with rare sightings across the country.

  • Couple says goodbye to beloved home on Quebec coast after erosion put safety at risk

    Joanne Audet and Marcel Breton say they have lived an extraordinary life by the sea, but the coastal erosion along the shores of Maria, Que., has become too much for the couple."We were hit by three enormous tides within a year. You can't stay here anymore. At home, it was scary. It was rumbling, it shook. The water hits your windows. You become surrounded by water everywhere," Audet said. "We no longer had a choice. We had to leave."Their residence is among eight homes threatened by imminent co

  • 'I don't think that's wise': Video captures herd of bison charging tourists in Yellowstone

    In case you needed a visual reminder of why you are supposed to keep at least a 25-yard distance from bison and other national park wildlife.

  • Snow leopard gives birth to 2 'little snowballs' at Toronto Zoo

    A snow leopard at the Toronto Zoo gave birth to two cubs this week, the Toronto Zoo has announced.Three-year-old Jita delivered the cubs after a few hours of labour. Her pregnancy had lasted 97 days. The first cub was born at about 7:45 p.m. Monday, while the second cub was born early Tuesday. Nine-year-old Pemba sired the cubs.The zoo said members of the public cannot yet view the "little snowballs" and their mom, but it will provide updates in the coming days and weeks about how and when the p

  • Grey-headed chickadee listed as endangered in May

    The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) updated the status of twelve Canadian animals this month, and it included the Grey-headed Chickadee among the animals newly considered "endangered."Dr. Louise Blight is the co-chair of the COSEWIC advisory committee on birds. She said Grey-headed Chickadees live at the edge of the treeline in the Pacific Northwest, and were historically common near Old Crow. The bird is so rare that it is hard to estimate its population, she

  • B.C. mayor warns against videos of properties destroyed by fire outside Fort Nelson

    FORT NELSON, B.C. — The mayor of a northeast British Columbia community threatened by wildfires is warning people who stayed behind in the evacuation zone to stay on their properties and not share images of fire destruction on social media. Northern Rockies Regional Municipality Mayor Rob Fraser says it's "insensitive" and "unconscionable" that images of properties destroyed by the Parker Lake wildfire outside Fort Nelson have been shared before owners were told of the damage by authorities. Fra

  • One week ago, the northern lights stunned America. When will it happen again?

    Even though experts say conditions are primed for more aurora shows over the next few years, predicting exactly when and where is a challenge.

  • 'Ozzy Osbourne' no match for stubborn Colorado bear in neighborhood tree

    Wildlife officials said the bear had gotten in the trash and found food. When the rangers arrived, the bear was already in a tree.

  • 4 downy chicks born to Moncton pair of rooftop peregrine falcons

    Moncton has welcomed some new feathery friends. Two peregrine falcons that have been living in a nesting box atop the Assumption Building in the city for the last 13 years have just hatched four chicks. Earlier this year, the Magnetic Hill Zoo and Nature Moncton partnered to set up a livestream on the pair's nesting box, so viewers waited anxiously for about a month, closely watching the eggs. Jill Marvin, the director of the Magnetic Hill Zoo, said she first noticed something unusual when she c

  • Residents of Canadian oil town menaced by wildfire can return home

    Residents of the Canadian oil town threatened by an out-of-control wildfire can return home, authorities said Saturday, even as they warned the community will have to contend with the blaze for the foreseeable future. Thousands of residents of Fort McMurray, in northern Alberta, had been ordered to leave their homes earlier this month. "With the current and forecast weather conditions, specifically the amount of rain that has fallen on the fire, combined with continued fire suppression and community protection efforts, I am pleased to announce it is now safe for us to end the current evacuation and allow people to return to their homes," said Sandy Bowman, mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo that includes Fort McMurray.

  • Warm and muggy tease of summer sparks a storm risk over Ontario

    A tropical humid, muggy airmass moves into southern Ontario over the next 3 days with the threat for non-severe thunderstorms in the forecast. More details with Meteorologist Melinda Singh.

  • Roaming Black Bear Amazes Residents of Michigan Beach Town

    A black bear was seen wandering the streets of Ludington, Michigan, on Thursday, May 16, before police said it returned to its natural habitat.Footage recorded by Trinja Henrickson shows the bear as residents of the beach town look on in amazement.Henrickson told Storyful she was heading to work when she heard about the bear on the loose, and stopped to look for it when she happened to spot it coming down an alleyway.The animal was first reported more than a mile away.The Ludington Police Department said on Thursday that the bear had “safely returned to its natural habitat.” Credit: Trinja Henrickson via Storyful

  • Botanists are scouring the US-Mexico border to document a forgotten ecosystem split by a giant wall

    JACUMÉ, México (AP) — Near the towering border wall flanked by a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle, botanist Sula Vanderplank heard a quail in the scrub yelp “chi-ca-go,” a sound the birds use to signal they are separated from a mate or group. Vanderplank was among several botanists and citizen scientists participating in the Border Bioblitz near the Mexican community of Jacumé, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Tijuana. On a recent day, Bioblitz volunteers scrutinized a bright yellow blooming carpet of common Goldfields, a sharp contrast to the imposing steel bollards of the border wall topped with rolls of razor wire.

  • Heavy rains trigger floods in parts of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands

    Heavy rains caused flooding in parts of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands overnight into Saturday, swamping streets and buildings and sparking evacuations. In the southwestern German state of Saarland, streets were deep underwater and images on social media showed emergency workers carrying local residents to safety in boats. State capital Saarbruecken was hard hit while German daily Bild reported that a breach in a dyke in the town of Quierschied led to a power station in the area being shut

  • Ford begs suppliers to help stem EV losses: 'We will all win or lose together'

    Ford is soliciting manufacturing money-saving ideas for its electric vehicles in a new memo sent this week.

  • Squirrels caused 80 outages in Toronto last year: hydro officials

    Squirrels caused about 80 power outages in Toronto in 2023 after coming into contact with power equipment, Toronto Hydro said, after a squirrel-related outage in the city Wednesday affected about 6,500 people. Racoons caused 13 outages in 2023, whilst birds caused about 30 outages in the same year, Toronto Hydro said in an email. "While each power outage is unique to its circumstances, outages due to wildlife interference…are resolved on average in under two hours," spokesperson Daniel McNeil sa

  • Flooding turns North Carolina speedway into a swimming pool for NASCAR crews

    Strong to severe thunderstorms in North Carolina produced a quick 3-4" of rainfall across communities north of Charlotte on Saturday. Trees and tents were reported to be toppled over in the area of Wilkesboro, and flooding was seen around the speedway.

  • Parts of Old Crow, Yukon, under evacuation alert, flood watch

    Parts of Old Crow, Yukon, are under evacuation alert as of Friday afternoon over a flood risk in the Porcupine River during seasonal breakup. The Yukon Emergency Measures Organization and Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation issued the notice Friday afternoon, telling residents in Zone 1, 2 and 3 they should be prepared to leave if needed. "Evacuations will begin if water rises quickly and overtops Dump Road," reads a news release. If that happens, flood monitors will go door to door through each zone a

  • Europe hit by severe floods in the north and heatwaves in the south

    Heavy rainfall and storms wreak havoc across northern Italy, France and Germany, whilst southern Italy endures an unseasonal heatwave.View on euronews

  • Buffalo Airways offering discount cargo as water levels impact barge shipments

    An N.W.T.-based airline is offering discounted rates to fly cargo to Sahtu communities, as low water levels impact barge shipments. On Friday, Buffalo Airways issued a news release stating it would be launching a "Sahtu Air Barge.""While the Air Barge program won't solve all the challenges shippers are faced with this year, it is designed to provide the most cost effective alternative to barge freight, for those that can't wait until the next winter road season to move their cargo," the release