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2 Tuesday July 7 2015 ENVIRONMENT WILDFIRES NEWS BRIEFS RCMP seize incoming liquor on its way into Tulita Deline Just in time for Canada Day RCMP ofcers made seizures of illegal alcohol entering the restricted communities of Tulita and Deline. The rst took place on June 25 when Tulita RCMP intercepted a boat with 31 small bottles of al- coholand32cansofbeer.Twolocalmaleswereinvolvedin the seizures and charges are pending. The next day in De- line RCMP responded to a complaint of an over-rationed amount of alcohol being own in seizing 52 small bottles of vodka. An investigation is ongoing. Car accident shuts down Alberta Hwy 63 at intersection with Hwy 881 OneofAlbertasdeadliestjunctionsclosedlastweekasemer- gencyrespondersfoughtoffamesatthesiteofacaraccident at the intersection of Hwy 63 and Hwy 881 on June 30. A dieseltruckignitedaftercollidingwithanSUVaround630 p.m. that day. Both the north and south-bound lanes of the highway were closed for hours as reghters contained the ames. An investigation in ongoing to determine the cause of the accident and damage to the highway surface. Wine liquor stolen from Fort Simpson golf course Fort Simpsons Seven Spruce golf course was victim to two break and enters in the last week of June the rst which led to stolen goods. After receiving a report of a break-in on June 26 local RCMP found about150 worth of wine and liquor stolen from the clubhouse. A second attempted break and enter took place on June 29 and though entry was not gained signicant damage was done to the exterior of the building. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. Workshops Discussion Forum Reclaiming Traditional Matriarchal July 13 -16 2015 6pm 10pm Uncle Gabes Friendship Centre 112Conibear Crescent Fort Smith NT Contact Amy Harris Youth Coordinator UGFC Use subject heading Indigenous Womens Workshop 2015 amyharrisychotmail.com 867-872-3004 Sponsored by GNWT and Uncle Gabes Friendship Centre Art by Jackie Traverse Priority will be given to Indigenous Women Female Youth although all are welcome to apply. Space is limited. Continued from page 1. A total of 60 reghters are actively working on the situation and sprinkler sys- tems are protecting homes and other values in the area. A lot of effort has gone into protecting houses and infrastructure along the cor- ridor Lepine said. InJeanMarieRiverwhere a re 3 km from the commu- nitysawresidentsevacuatelast weekcrewshavebeenableto contain 90 per cent of the re andshouldhaveitwrappedup by the end of the week. Explosives used to create ponds in drought areas Apart from the res near Hay River and Jean Marie River ENR is also actioning two other complexes with the potential to impact commu- nities and infrastructure. Around 27 km northeast of Fort Providence crews and dozers are working on putting out a 5000-hectare blaze challenged by a lack of locally sourced water. Lepine saidcrewshavehadtouseex- plosives to blast out articial pondsinordertoghtthere inanarearavagedbydrought. Generally theres no real deep ponds to work with or so on but this year especially with the drought theres no water available Lepine said. We have to look really hard to nd water sources and it seems to be a common occur- rence when you talk to other jurisdictions. NearFortSimpsontheAn- toineComplex-aseriesofseven res-continuestorequirework. Though ve of the res have been brought under control thelargest-at10000hectares -willtakeanotherthreetofour weekstobecontained.Thatre is approximately 35 km south of Fort Simpson. Close to 50 res in Wood Buffalo Park Fireghters in Wood Buf- faloNationalParkcontinueto focus on three complexes the primary one being a set of 10 res stretching 70 km along Highway5westofFortSmith. Parks Canada wildland re management personnel willbeconductingoperations adjacent to NWT Highway 5 tomanageagroupofresthat resulted from signicant re- cent lightning activity. These operations include helicop- ters working in the area and crews and heavy equipment alongsidethehighwayParks spokespeople announced Monday afternoon. Park staffarefocussedonminimiz- ingtheimpactofthesereson thehighwayandthepowerand Onereburning3kmwest oftheNorthTallcreeFirstNa- tion a small community of about 100 people located east of High Level was evacuated last week as a precaution. On Sundayheavyequipmentwas able to complete a 14 km re- guard on the north side of the community. That re is now around6000hectaresinsize. Two of the four out of con- trol res burning 11 km north of Meander River on the west side of Highway 35 are now being held and are not Lack of water impacting reghting Fire crews have been able to set up reguards using heavy equipment and burnout operations between the Paradise Complex and the community of Hay River which was put on alert for possible evacuation last week. PhotoDaliCarmichael telecommunicationsinfrastruc- ture in the highway corridor. ParksCanadaisworkingwith NorthwesTel and the NWT Power Corporation to safe- guard critical infrastructure. Personnelarealsoworking on a set of res known as the SouthSlavecomplexnearHay Camp and another series of res around the Peace River from Garden River to Moose Island and south to the Birch River. Those large res are causing significant smoke impacting air road and river travelcorridors.Theroadfrom Peace Point to Moose Island maybeclosedonshortnotice. More than 20 res in the High Level area FiresnearHighLevelAlta. continued to challenge crews and kept a special air qual- ity statement in effect for the area over the weekend. expected to grow past cur- rent boundaries. Residents of Meander River have been placed on evacuation alert. A wildre burning 50 km west of High Level south of Highway 58 is out of control and over 28000 hectares. Close to 160 reghters are managing the blaze and cat guards are being established on the north and northeast sides of the re. Two more res are burning north and northwest of the Steen River west of Highway 35. One located 12 km north is now under control while the one 24 km northwest is out of control and closing in on 10000 hectares. This re is affecting visibility along Highway 35. Smoke is expected to be heavy again early this week. The wildre hazard for the area continues to be extreme. With the drought theres no water available. We have to look really hard to nd water sources and it seems to be a common occurrence when you talk to other jurisdictions. Frank Lepine Environment Natural Resources