Fort Smith residents should expect heavy smoke this week as wildfire burns 38 kilometres away

A wildfire near Fort Smith, N.W.T., has triggered a precautionary evacuation of the area around the Taltson Dam.

The wildfire is about 9,000 hectares in size, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Fire crews are setting up protection for things of value in the area.

It was caused by lightning and is currently about 38 kilometres northeast of Fort Smith.

The department said on its website that the fire is "very smoky" as of Monday morning, and shifting winds could mean high levels of smoke in the town.

Mike Westwick, the territory's wildfire information officer, said residents should expect to see heavy smoke this week.

"I just want to assure people off the top that Fort Smith is not currently at risk, though they should expect heavy smoke in the coming days, because that fire is continuing to burn. It's not a small fire," he said.

"Our teams are out on the land, they're putting up sprinklers to reduce the risk for structures."

Westwick said there were two occupied cabins, the occupants of which the department spoke to directly. Meanwhile, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation voluntarily evacuated some of their staff from the Taltson Dam site, he added, also "out of an abundance of caution."

The fire is considered to be out of control Westwick said.

"It's totally natural to have fires like this out on the land there. What we mean by out of control is that a perimeter hasn't been established as control." he said.

"Many of our fires will remain out of control for a very long time, because we simply don't fight them because we want to let nature run its course wherever we can, wherever there is not values ... and risk like communities, cabins or infrastructure."

He recommends to anyone heading out onto the land to know the current fire danger, which is high in many areas of the territory, particularly the south, right now.

"If the fire danger is high or extreme, then our recommendation is always to avoid any fires unless you absolutely need it for cooking or warmth," Westwick said.

"We're facing a very late surge in the fire season here, it's uncharacteristic ... that's been driven by weather conditions that are not unseasonal here."