| Comments | Northwest Territories, July 1 to September 18, 2014. Abnormally dry conditions and high temperatures fed peak wildfire conditions during the 2014 fire season. By mid-July, 168 separate fires were burning throughout the territory. Voluntary and mandatory evacuations were issued in June and July, most notably in the town of Kakisa where 60 residents were evacuated to Hay River and Fort Providence. The Taltson hydroelectric facility was temporarily shut down as a precautionary measure due to fires that threatened the main transmission lines. By the end of the wildfire season, over 3.5 million hectares of land was burned, the most in over 30 years. In total, 385 fires burned throughout the territory in 2014, 57 per cent more than the annual average. The Government of the Northwest Territories spent $55 million dollars fighting wildfires in 2014, more than eight times the average cost. |