As sunshine and more pleasant weather becomes the norm in the Northwest Territories, residents are heading out to enjoy outdoor activities more and more.
One of those activities undoubtedly includes enjoying a campfire. However, some of those campfires are getting out of hand, according to officials with NWT Fire.
“Campfires left unattended pose a significant risk because they usually occur near things people care about like cabins, homes, and communities," said Mike Westwick, manager of wildfire prevention and mitigation with the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
He added that leaving a campfire unattended is the single most significant cause of person-caused fires in the territory.
Fire crews are planning to expand their outreach activities to encourage people to extinguish their fires properly, stated Westwick, and they are also working closely with NWT Parks to promote responsible behaviour in camping areas.
Westwick is urging people to take personal responsibility to prevent fires. He stated that avoiding human-caused fires is not difficult as it just requires a bit of responsibility and foresight.
To remind people about fire safety, he said the department invests heavily in advertising, signage, and messaging through both social media and traditional media. Firefighters also conduct demonstrations on how to safely start and extinguish campfires as part of their outreach activities.
And there are punitive measures if it has to come to that, he added.
“Additionally, enforcement action is an option. People can receive fines if campfires are left unattended,” he said.
He mentioned that the proper way to douse a fire is to stir it, douse it again, and repeat until the air above the fire is cool to the touch. People are also advised to come prepared with a bucket or an empty soda bottle, or anything that can carry water to douse a fire, and a stick or shovel to stir it.
“As far as recent occurrences, we have largely been observing them through social media. More than six instances have been observed at Yellowknife River alone,” said Westwick.
He encourages people to call the department at 1-877-NWT-FIRE to report unattended fires.