N.W.T. trappers shocked, saddened to learn cabins lost to wildfire near Fort Smith

Some Fort Smith, N.W.T, trappers are shocked and saddened after their cabins burned to the ground in a wildfire last week.

The cabins burned in a fire called SS019 that ignited about 30 kilometres northeast of Fort Smith in May and swallowed up smaller fires burning nearby.  

N.W.T. Fire said in the spring that the fire was manageable, but it ended up turning at least five cabins to ash. 

Emotions were high when officials from the territorial department of Environment and Climate Change (ECC) told cabin owners what happened to their properties. 

Earl Evans of Fort Smith is saddened by the loss of his two cabins. He enjoys being on the land and said the cabins were good places to store necessary supplies on the trail, and take shelter while traveling.

Cabins held memories

His voice broke as he shared memories he made with his family at the cabins. They served as places to warm up and had many necessities.

"When the kids were young… and you got their names on the wall and all the memories and all that, and that's all burned up but you can't replace what was there," said Evans.

Evans has lived in Fort Smith all his life, hunting and trapping, and knows the land well. He said a fire had already swept through the area where his cabins are, and he didn't think it would happen again. 

"Five or six years ago… forestry put up sprinklers and saved it and it burned all around the cabin," said Evans. "Surprised it burned again." 

Evans was also sad to think of all of the wildlife that has been affected by wildfires, especially the smaller animals that don't have a chance to get away.

"A lot of them die in there," he said, "All the birds' nests and all the little dens and all that, that's all burned ... so nothing can live in that." 

Louise Beaulieu, also from Fort Smith, was not told that the forest fire was close to burning her family's cabin. A former firefighter herself, she would have fought the fire to protect assets in the area.

Beaulieu said ECC told her it wasn't aware of her cabin and that it's not on any of ECC's maps, even though it's existed for years.

She said ECC would normally notify a person that their cabin is threatened as soon as a fire is within a couple of miles of it.

"I would have flown out to protect my family's cabin, if I was contacted," she said.

ECC urging owners to register cabins

ECC is now urging cabin owners to register their cabins on the department's website so officials know where the cabins are and can protect them if need be. The department says this information will be kept private and used for fire safety purposes only.

"It's a tough situation," said N.W.T. Fire information officer Jessica Davey-Quantick. "Our crews do everything they can to protect values, but the most important thing is always human safety."

'My dad's history ... is all gone'

Beaulieu said with remorse that her cabin was a home with many memories. In addition to her cabin, half her trapline is gone, too, along with equipment and supplies that were stored nearby.

"It's a historic trapline," she said. "It belonged to my great-great-great-grandfather Francois King Beaulieu I, so our trapline's over 100 and some years old."

Beaulieu viewed access to these cabins as part of a sustainable lifestyle, and her family's way of making a living.

"My dad's history, everything that was out there, is all gone," she said.

Beaulieu is grateful that her family has a surviving cabin out at Bell Rock, also known as Gravel Point. All the cabins were a rich source of family history.

She said compensation to rebuild would be welcome, but that the area will take a few years to come back to life, and that may change her ability to be out there.

Still, Beaulieu would like to see some kind structure in the area to pass on to her children.

ECC said they offer harvesters various compensation packages related to wildfire destruction.

Both Evans and Beaulieu hope to get back out on their traplines eventually, even if it means having to use a temporary structure.