The fire danger forecast for Yellowknife is high for today and tomorrow and going up to extreme on Friday.
The Canadian Forest Fire Danger rating system is a national system used for rating the danger of forest fires in Canada, says Amber Simpson, Wildland Fire Prevention Coordinator at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR).
“The fire danger forecast is a relative index of how easy it is to ignite vegetation, how difficult a fire may be to control and how much damage a fire may do,” said Simpson.
The different levels of danger are determined by using information about weather, fuels and topography to predict fire weather, occurrence and behaviour, Simpson said, which together predict the potential for fire danger.
“So when you see the fire danger for extreme, that means a wildland fire can be expected to be a fast-spreading, high intensity ground fire, which can be very difficult to control. It also means any suppression actions would be limited to the flanks and only indirect action would be possible against that fire’s head,” said Simpson.
When conditions are extreme, people should consider not lighting fires unless absolutely necessary Simpson said.
“They should also check with their municipality to see if there’s any fire restrictions, and if they do light any fires, just beware that they are responsible for them,” said Simpson.
For an up-to-date fire danger forecast, go to the GNWT’s Wildland Fire Update page.
To report a forest fire call 1-877-NWTFIRE (698-3473).
