Yellowknife announces city-wide fire ban before holiday weekend

Yellowknife's fire chief has announced a city-wide fire ban Friday morning, just before the weekend begins.

The ban includes all open-air fires within city boundaries, including using approved fire pits, according to a news release Friday morning.

The fire chief says camp stoves, enclosed BBQs, propane-fuelled cooking and heating devices are OK to use. However, those appliances have to be placed within fire pits that are regulated, and shouldn't emit a flame more than half a metre in diameter and height, states the news release.

The fire chief says his department has put the fire ban in place because of "very dry conditions" with no rain in the forecast into next week.

Two territorial parks included in ban

In a news release sent Friday afternoon, the territorial government said the fire ban is also in place forYellowknife River Territorial Park andFred Henne Territorial Park.

The ban is in effect until further notice, states the news release. Any changes in the ban will be announced on the city's website and social media pages, says the fire chief. Further informationon fire bans and territorial park closures can be found under alerts on the N.W.T. Parks website.

Sunday marks NationalIndigenous Peoples Day, a statutory holiday in the Northwest Territories.