Fire crews are still working to contain the wildfire in Behchoko.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the blaze stood at 113,097 hectares and remained out of control, according to NWT Fire. It remained 45 km outside of Yellowknife and still posed no threat to the city.
Mike Westwick, wildfire information officer with the Department of Environment and Climate Change, said a total of 19 structures have been lost, all within Rae and along Highway 3. Three others have been damaged, he added.
Those who have lost a residence or cabin will have the next steps explained to them by staff from the GNWT, and there may be help available through hunters and trappers disaster assistance compensation programs as well, said Westwick.
The structure losses occurred when the fire took that big swing toward Behchoko late last month due to winds gusting as high as 50 km/h.
Westwick said around four dozen structures have managed to remain unscathed due to the use of sprinklers and specialized protection gel known as FireIce.
The blaze has still not crossed the Frank Channel toward Edzo and that allowed residents who were evacuated last week to return home as of Monday at noon. The evacuation order has now been changed to an alert, meaning that residents may be told to leave once again if the situation changes.
Power was restored to Edzo as of Monday morning, while power to homes in Rae was expected to be restored by Monday evening, but that wasn’t a guarantee, according to Pushp Seth, Behchoko’s senior administrative officer, on Sunday.
Residents of Rae and those living near Frank Channel are not allowed to return home as the Behchoko community government has determined it’s not yet safe to do so. The Tlicho Government is telling those who can come back to the community to avoid going to their cabins.
The return was accompanied by a notice from the Tlicho Community Services Agency, which stated on Sunday that service levels for any health-related matters have been modified. As it stands, a paramedic station is being established at the community youth centre in Edzo for any on-call matters. The Marie Adele Bishop Health Centre remains closed.
Westwick said crews were planning on Tuesday to put up a perimeter around Rae, working their way in and extinguishing all fuel (trees) within the perimeter of the fire, eventually working towards 300 feet (91 metres) in near the community.
Securing Frank Channel was also part of Tuesday’s objectives, he added, to protect it over the long term and reduce the chance of flare-ups nearby later on.
The fibre-optic line that carries telephone and internet services for much of the area has not been damaged, but Westwick said its vulnerability remains a concern.
