As fire crews continue to battle the blaze in Fort Good Hope, more fires have popped up in the Dehcho region over the past 24 hours.
The Friday afternoon update from NWT Fire told of two new ones that started overnight Thursday. FS007 has been deemed caused by lightning and is approximately two hectares in size, according to Mike Westwick, wildfire information officer with the Department of Environment and Climate Change (ECC).
Multiple fire crews and air support are battling it, he added, and it's located 42 km south-southwest of the Fort Simpson Airport and on the east side of the Liard River. No communities, cabins, or infrastructure currently at threat according to the update.
FS008 is the other fire and was also caused by lightning, stated Westwick.
It's located less than 1 km west of Highway 7, about 45 km south-southwest of the Fort Simpson Airport and 17 km past the junction of Highways 1 and 7 travelling towards Fort Liard.
It's currently nine hectares in size and Westwick stated airtankers were fighting the blaze. Flames would most likely be visible from Highway 7 and no communities, or cabins at threat currently. Winds are expected to be light through most of the day from the north, which could cause flames to creep south toward Highway 7.
Meanwhile, crews continue to battle the wildfire in Fort Good Hope, which has grown to 5,187 hectares as of Friday afternoon.
Seven fire crews, along with a 20-person unit crew from Yukon and two fire technicians, are on the ground trying to get the blaze under control with the help of the volunteer fire brigade in the community. Three helicopters are bucketing the area with water skimmers and airtankers providing support when needed.
There is still no structure damage or loss in the community, according to Frank McKay, the information officer assigned to the fire.
Crews are continuing to look for hot spots and extinguishing them as they're found with fire breaks being built by dozers around Old Baldy Mountain, as well as blacklining being performed on the community side facing the fire. Blacklining is when firefighters burn off any fresh vegetation in order to stop flames from spreading.
Warmer conditions were in the forecast for Friday with winds coming out of the northeast in the morning. Drier air was also in the forecast with a bit of cloud cover.