Yellowknife, NWT – An immediate mandatory fire ban has been placed into effect for the city of Yellowknife until further notice.
Yellowknife Fire Chief Darcy Hernblad says the city uses fire weather indices provided by the G.N.W.T’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources to evaluate conditions and determine whether a ban is necessary.
He says current conditions in the city are extreme.
We asked Hernblad how long the ban will be in place.
“The burning ban will stay in effect until we can see a change in the indices that we get from E.N.R. As soon as that rating changes and shows that conditions are no longer extreme or high and get down to a moderate range, then we can lift the ban at that time.”
Hernblad understands residents might want to have fires over the long weekend, but urges everyone to respect the ban until it’s lifted.
He says people can still barbeque, but any open fires that could spark are prohibited.
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