N.W.T. plans for early start to wildfire season, as holdover fires smoulder underground

Fire officials in the N.W.T. say they'llbringin staff and resources earlier than usual this spring, to prepare for the coming wildfire season and also assess any fires still smouldering underground since last year.

"There's a plan to do aerial as well as drone scanning early in the spring as well as having staff on the ground also doing assessments on fires," saidJay Macdonald, minister of Environment and Climate Change, in the legislature on Wednesday.

Macdonald said climate change and drought conditionshaveshown the need to to be proactive when dealing with fires.

One concern this year is that some of last year's fires are still burning beneath the snow and could flare up again in the spring.During the winter months, such firescan be noticed when smoke or steam appears to be coming out of the ground.

Macdonaldsaid an over-winteringfire near Paradise Gardens, south of Hay River, N.W.T., raised concerns for residents there.

"There was significantsmoke that was billowing from there," he said.

N.W.T wildfire information officer Mike Westwick said that fire received"action," meaning that workers cut off the fire's supply to oxygen, smothering it.

Westwicksaid there isn't an exact number of how many holdover fires there are in the N.W.T., but monitoring is focused on areas around Enterprise, the Hay River corridor, and Highway 3 between Behchokand Yellowknife.

Westwick said it's not uncommon to see over-wintering after a heavy wildfireseason. He said fires last year burned deep into the soil, partly because of how dry it was.

"That heat stays trapped in there and with some ignition still underground there, you know, working with what it's got with diminished oxygen," he said, adding that material such as peat moss can fuelsuchfires.

Westwick said firefightersare being trained to deal with holdoverfires, andaircraftare also being lined up to deal with those fires and prepare forany new ones that might start up in the coming season.

He said he recognized the concern from residents,especially those who went through a traumatic fire season last year. But Westwick said that the over-wintering fires themselves are not a risk for communities right now.

Tied to climate change, researcher says

Jennifer Baltzer, a professor atWilfrid Laurier University who has been studying holdover fires, said it's all tied to the changing climate.

"We're seeing more severe fires, we're seeing larger area burned," she said.

Baltzer said over-winteringfires can meanan earlier start to the wildfire season, which could put additional strain on firefighting resources. Such fires can also affectcarbon emissions, and forest recovery.

"The impact of these will be relatively small compared to the main fire season," she said. "But again, the bigger concern probably has to do with how this is extending the fire season."

According to the most recent water monitoring bulletin, it could be another dry summer in the territory. So far, data shows that there's been a lot less snow than usual in the areas of northern Alberta and B.C. that drain into the N.W.T.

Westwick said the speed of the springmeltalso has an effect.

"Alonger more drawn-out melt can be beneficial, in terms of making sure that the ground is wetter and colder for longer therefore not providing as good of an environment for wildfires to thrive," he said.

"A fastermelt will resultin faster evaporation, which results in drier ground, which results in greater levels of fire danger."

The territorial governmentis currentlyholding wildfire engagement sessions, where residentscan give feedback on wildfire management, both in person and online.

And on Thursday, MLAs voted fora public inquiry into the territory's response to the 2023 wildfires, though Premier R.J. Simpson said his government is making no promises about that.