No houses lost in Fort Simpson wildfire

The wildfire outside of Fort Simpson, N.W.T., grew overnight, but thanks to crews working throughout the night, no homes were lost, according to wildfire officials.

Wildland urban interface crews, which are still working in the Wild Rose area, hindered flames from destroying any “primary residential structures,” said wildfire information officer Forrest Tower on Saturday morning.

Although, he added that some outbuildings, like sheds and fences, have been damaged, including a spot fire on the village island itself.

“If people aren’t familiar with what a true, full wildfire looks like when it is burning at its full potential, we are talking about flames 50 to 100 feet above the treetops,” Tower said. “It is extremely intense fire behavior that was observed yesterday.”

In a Facebook post, the Village of Fort Simpson — located about 370 kilometres west of Yellowknife — also confirmed no primary residences were lost, despite fire being pushed into “every area from the trailer court to Wildrose.”

The fire now spans 150 square kilometres. Tower said the fire is burning actively all across Highway 1. Winds are expected to shift Saturday, coming from the north. 

“Wind shifts make parts of the fire that weren’t active the day before quite active,” he said.

Tower said Friday that crews saw “running crown fires,” or fires that move from direct tree-to-tree contact, usually in the tops of the trees. Wildfire can also spread from burning bark or other material carried by the wind.

“The risk is that it can fall into gutters, onto decks, fall into firewood piles,” he said.

Crews are working to locate and extinguish these spot fires as soon as possible, Tower added.

Assessments are still taking place and a full picture won’t be available until after the danger has passed. It’s possible more structures could be damaged or lost in the coming days, he said.

“One thing we’ve learned over the past several days is just how quickly a wildfire situation can change,” Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation Chief Kele Antoine wrote on social media Friday.

“One minute things can look stable, and the next minute, changing winds and these dry conditions can cause it to flare up unexpectedly.”

People warned about sharing images

On social media Friday, the village asked people not to share images of affected areas.

“If someone has lost their home, they should not learn about it on social media. Please be respectful and kind to each other in this difficult time,” the post read.

Tower said many of the publicly available mapping tools may also be misleading, as smoke can cause problems for mapping services, like Google Earth, that rely on satellites detecting heat. 

“The satellites, as they pass over, see all that heat and it’s putting red dots on the map … but it’s heat that’s in the atmosphere and in the smoke; it’s not necessarily wildfire on the ground,” Tower said. 

He said he’d checked some of the popular sites that are publicly accessible Saturday morning, and “you would think that the entire area is completely burned.”

There is fire and heat in that area, but “it does not mean that every tree and every structure is damaged,” Tower said.

He cautioned the public to wait for official updates on size and perimeter. But he noted that those estimates can also be misinterpreted, as heavy smoke, as well as prioritizing protection, means there may be delays in updating maps and other resources for the public. 

“We obviously know where the fire is,” he said, adding that perimeters do not mean everything within them have burned. Rather, it’s the boundary drawn by operations.

“As scary and as hard as it is, it’s important to wait for that official confirmation.”  

More updates are expected late this afternoon.