N.W.T. fire officials warn of 'extreme' fire risk around Great Slave Lake

Forest fire officials in the N.W.T. are urging people around Great SlaveLake to keep an eye on their campfires, after three wildfires were apparently started by people in the Yellowknife area over the weekend.

"Unless they are absolutely needed, people should consider not lighting fires," said Richard Olsen, manager of fire operations with the department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR).

"If they do light fires they are responsible for them, both to put them out and to make sure they don't spread."

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The fires were on Horseshoe Island in Great Slave Lake, Pickerel Lake along the Ingraham Trail, and Frame Lake. They are among nine fires that started across the Northwest Territories over the weekend.

Fire officials say conditions both north and south of Great Slave Lake are currently rated as extreme. Temperatures have been higher than normal, and with little precipitation, fires can easily spread and become hard to control.

Currently, there are no fire bans for the Yellowknife area, but there will be an announcement Thursday on whether there will be a ban put in place for the long weekend.

Pickerel Lake fire

The fire at Pickerel Lake, which started Saturday, is still burning, though officials say it's expected to be out by the end of the day Tuesday.

CeileighBurns was at the lake over the weekend with a group of friends, when they spotted the fire and called it in.

"I was just impressed about how fast they [ENR firefighters] got out there," said Burns.

Burns said it was under an hour from the time they made the call to ENRuntil the time a scout plane showed up to check it out.

"We do want to thank people and appreciate all the people who call in and report forest fires," said Olsen.

"That helps us immensely in helping us to respond quicker to them."

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More fires are expected to start up across the N.W.T. over the week, due to lightning.

There have been 39 fires this year so far, burning 3,158 hectares of land, which is less than average. None of the fires burning right now are threatening cabins or communities.

"There is always a possibility that there could be a big bad fire [near] something that you own," said Olsen.

"So the better you are at mitigatingrisk and helping communicate the potential for fire starts that have occurred, the easier it is going to be for us to respond."