The NWT is on FIRE

We arrived in Wrigley, NT on Saturday, July 8th. It took us 6 days to paddle the 145 miles between Fort Simpson and Wrigley.

It was a beautiful paddle through the Nahanni and Camsell Mountains at the Camsell Bend, where the Mackenzie River finally turns earnestly to the North after mostly traveling West-Northwest from Great Slave Lake.

As soon as we arrived in Wrigley, we met a local man named Kyle who had come down to the town landing. Kyle told us about a large wildfire that had been sparked by lightning North of Wrigley near Tulita.

The tiny village of Tulita is about 155 miles North of Wrigley. Twelve miles Southeast of Tulita, the Mackenzie River makes a 90 degree turn to the West. There is a large island, called Police Island, on the inside bend of the river and river is fairly narrow here.

The fire had started south of Police Island on the West bank of the Mackenzie River. The same Southeast winds that had helped us make a couple of 28 and 29 mile days to get to Wrigley had driven the wildfire to double in size in one day.

The fire had grown first from 5,000 Hectares on Friday, July 7th to 10,000 Hectares. On Saturday, we learned that the “12 Mile Creek” fire had grown to 14,000 Hectares and was still growing aggressively. We knew we would have to delay our departure from Wrigley to see what this fire might do next.

We checked and re-checked the Northwest Territories Live Fire Map constantly. Sleep was difficult, and at 3 am on Sunday morning, I awoke to the strong smell of campfire and an Eerie orange glow to the North in the heavy fire haze that was now being blown into Wrigley from Tulita by a North wind.

It was amazing how thick the haze was, when the fires were over one hundred and fifty miles away. The haze never left for the remainder of the time we were in Wrigley.

When we had left Fort Simpson for Wrigley, we knew of a fire to the East of Tulita, but that fire had not grown very much due to the fact that it was burning in an area that had recently burned. Less fuel equals a less active fire. Although it is currently 13,000 Hectares (50 square miles), which is still considered a large fire.

The 12 Mile Creek Fire, was a different story, it had doubled in size on Friday and it grew to over 21,000 Hectares (81 square miles) between Sunday, July 9th and Tuesday, July 11th. It was actively burning along the banks of the Mackenzie River and it was threatening to move onto islands in the river.

On Monday, July 10th, the elderly and young residents of Tulita were evacuated, due to the health concerns caused by the heavy smoke and ash falling on the community, which was mostly fallout from the 12 Mile Creek Fire.

On Tuesday, July 11th we learned that most residents of Tulita chose to self-evacuate from the village due to the heavy smoke and ash.

We would have to paddle through the area for several days on our way North along the Mackenzie River, given the location of the fire, which would mean multiple days of exposure to the dangerous smoke and ash from the fire.

Furthermore, the extended forecasts from multiple sources indicated that the 90 degree weather and East and Southeast winds that had built the 12 Mile Creek Fire into the monster that it was, were set to continue the entire week of July 10 – 14.

I contacted Mike Westwick and discussed the fire situation in Tulita with him. Mike is the Public Information Officer for the NWT Wildfire Office and he graciously spent time speaking with me about all of the information that they had on the fires around Tulita, the smoke forecast models and even their fire prediction models.

None of the prognosis was good news. Mike told me that the 12 Mile Creek Fire was, “actively and aggressively burning on the shore of the Mackenzie River and threatening to jump over to Four Mile Island.”

Mike said that the fire had been growing with such intensity that they had not really even been able to physically get into the area to assess the fire, everything they knew was from remote satellite sources. Neither aircraft, nor boats could get crews safely into the area due to the smoke and ash.

It was not a safe place to be for expert wild-land firefighters, let alone a family of four on a canoe expedition.

I contacted Myrtle Graham at Marine Transport Service, the barge company, and Myrtle told me she was glad I called as she was worried about us. Myrtle told me about the fire and indicated that a barge crew had just gone through the area of the 12 Mile Creek Fire and reported the smoke and ash to be, “Hellish, with active fire on the banks of the Mackenzie River.”

Myrtle also indicated that our truck had not yet been out on a barge to go north. The extremely hot temperatures and low water levels were wreaking havoc on the barges ability to move cargo down river. Myrtle indicated that if water levels fell any further MTS may have trouble getting to the Northernmost communities on the Mackenzie River.

On Tuesday afternoon, we determined that we would not be able to continue our canoe expedition due to the fire and smoke danger in Tulita. We just can’t risk our health and safety with the danger posed by the fires around Tulita. Even as I write this, a fire bulletin released today by NWT Fire describes the Tulita wildfires thus, “These fires are out of control.”

The all weather road, The Mackenzie Highway, ends in Wrigley, so we set about arranging a ride back to our truck in Hay River. Thankfully, it had not yet been put on a barge to go North.

We had met several local residents in Wrigley during our stay and everyone was friendly and welcoming. They all knew of the fires near Tulita from family and/or friends, so we received personal updates about the effect of the smoke and ash on the community from many new friends.

One man we met was Daniel Bruneau. Daniel had been in the Northwest Territories practically his whole life and was now a retired engineer. He had visited us in our campsite at Wrigley multiple times over the days we waited out the fires and shared his knowledge and wisdom about the NWT, wildfires and life in general.

Fortunately for us, Daniel’s heart is as big as his brain and, once we made the decision to end the canoe trip and head back to get our truck in Hay River, Daniel immediately asked me to come to his house to build a rack, so our canoes and equipment could be safely transported in his trusty 2014 Ford F-150.

On Wednesday, July 12, Daniel drove our whole family, our canoes and our equipment 650 kilometers (400 miles) over mostly gravel roads to Hay River.

We are now camped at the Hay River Territorial Campground, refugees from the Tulita wildfires, and determining our next steps.

The girls have taken the decision hard with lots of tears and questions as to whether or not we’ll ever be able to finish this trip. Whether or not we’ll ever be able to do another expedition like this again.

It has been great to see their resilience and determination in the face of something out of any of our control. This fire was in exactly the wrong place and the wrong time, but we are safe and healthy, which is the important thing.

We’re determining our next adventures up here, so, please stay tuned. We’re not ready to come home yet.

Stay safe,
Umingmaq