N.W.T. communities eager to tap into federal fund for firebreaks — sooner rather than later

Rose Betthale-Reid says she's worried about what her community of Fort Liard, N.W.T., could face next summer if it's another bad wildfire season. 

"There is no firebreak, no firebreak at all, none," she said.  

"I live right by the airport, it's full of grass… It's really, really dangerous."

The federal government has funding available to build firebreaks in all N.W.T. communities but that program, announced before last summer's wildfires, is designed to have all communities protected within eight years — a timeline that feels too long for many in the territory. 

The program also doesn't provide the money upfront, so communities need to have enough in their budget to complete the work and await reimbursement.  

John Mckee, the SAO of Fort Liard, says building firebreaks — which would typically involve clear-cutting large swaths of forest to remove potential fuel from a forest fire — around the community will be a large undertaking, with large trees and thick forests. There's also Fort Liard's remote location, meaning contractors will need to travel to the community.

Fort Liard was also the only community in the territory to experience a fatality related to a wildfire this year, as 25-year-old Adam Yeadon died after being injured battling a blaze near his community in July.

Adam's father, Jack Yeadon, says he fears what's to come. 

"This last summer was really turbulent and eventful for me," he said. "I think the temperature's going up, so I see difficulty in the future." 

An 8-year plan

In September 2022, N.W.T. MP Michael McLeod stood in front of a large crowd gathered for the N.W.T. Association of Communities annual general meeting at the Chateau Nova in Yellowknife. He announced that the federal government would be earmarking $20 million so 29 communities in the territory (the ones below the treeline) could build firebreaks. 

The money wasn't immediately available for communities to use though — they needed to get a wildfire protection plan approved, complete the work, and then they would eligible to be reimbursed an allotted amount. 

"We can spend up to $20 million and be reimbursed. Big difference — we're not sitting on the $20 million," said Sara Brown, CEO of the N.W.T. Association of Communities, the organization that's in charge of coordinating and distributing the funding.

The money was intended to last for eight years but around eight months after the program was announced, many communities wanted firebreaks immediately. 

"It's really — no pun intended — changed the landscape," Brown said, referring to this past summer's wildfires and the impact on the program.

When the evacuations started, she said her organization informed every community of how much money they had been allocated under the program, so they could begin protecting themselves if they wanted.

"It was to be spread out over eight years. This year was going to be a year to get organized ... and get agreements with all the communities in place." 

Brown said the territory is still collecting data on how many communities did work to protect themselves from fires.

One of those was Fort Providence. Danny Beaulieu, the mayor, said as communities like Hay River, Fort Smith and Yellowknife evacuated, his village decided to better protect itself and cleaned up its existing firebreaks. 

"Because trees were starting to grow in it," he said.  

He said he doesn't know the amount for sure, but believes it cost over $100,000 and took a couple of weeks to complete the work. 

Beaulieu said he wasn't sure if the community was reimbursed yet, but Fort Providence's SAO said she doesn't believe they have been. 

Brown said her organization is in the process of helping those communities recover what they spent this year on firebreaks. 

"They can recover those dollars, it's just a matter of when," she said. 

Brown said she's hopeful the territorial government can help cover some of the work completed by communities, with the federal support the territorial government is receiving. She said this would free up the money the communities can access for building firebreaks. 

CBC News contacted the territory and was informed that "forward-looking decisions regarding new funding or investments" can't be made until the new territorial cabinet is established. 

Brown says once the data is collected on the work completed, she will be presenting proposals to the federal government about changes to the program. She also expects the eight-year timeline to shorten and says Canada seems pretty willing to "reprofile." 

A spokesperson for Infrastructure Canada said they couldn't comment on the program to ensure partner confidentiality.

Rose Betthale-Reid in Fort Liard just hopes it isn't too late.