Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and bear with me. It takes a disaster to spur government to action which, at times, there's a play book and other times there is none. A question being asked is could we have done better? The answer is almost always yes. However, when we are dealing with a disaster as it unfolds, we need to rely on those schooled to the type of disaster at hand, who have firsthand information of what is actually taking place on the ground as with this fire that happened in the South Slave. Having a front row seat to the fire on the K'atlodeeche lands, I was impressed with the responsiveness of the department to placing personnel and equipment on the fire at the outset. Without it, damage could have been much worse along with potential loss of life. Mr. Speaker, I asked the Minister of ECC, were firefighter and emergency personnel, equipment and aircraft in place and ready to be deployed at the time news of the fire was received by the department? Were contracts in place and certification of personnel and equipment completed? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for MACA.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before I answer that question, I have to thank the Member from Hay River South, Hay River North, the Deh Cho, as well as Chief Martel and her council and Mayor Jameson and her council. They showed strong leadership. There was a number of volunteers that helped here in various other communities. So, again, I thank them very much for this.
In regards to the questions, given preseason forecasting for high conditions in the southern NWT this summer, the GNWT took a number of actions to be prepared for an earlier and challenging fire season. We brought on more fire crews this year and testing and training for fire crews in the south NWT has been completed by the time fire had started. We added additional aircraft support for this season and had them start two weeks earlier.
When the KFN and Hay River fire started, we already had an Electra air tanker and helicopter on the ground in Hay River to begin the work on the fire on that first day and brought in additional helicopters from Fort Smith and the second Electra aircraft from Alberta. A second ECC contracted NWTbased Electra and four Fire Boss air tanker, which had also been brought on strength earlier this year, started working on the fire that next day. As well, we had crews that were on the reserve with Evergreen. There was four of them, and we were able to the next day, we had six crews there right away. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister confirm the department was prepared to immediately action the fire on the K'atlodeeche lands; and, how long did it take to mobilize upon receiving word that there was an active fire that was becoming out of control; and, how effective was the response using ground crews and equipment, helicopters, 802s, Electras, and I understand they were even considering bringing in C215s. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said previously, ECC was prepared for a possible early start to this fire season and had crews, helicopter and air tanker on strength in Hay River. ECC staff were able to respond to the fire on the morning it started with the information of the smoke. A helicopter and initial attack crews responded from Hay River immediately. Another Electra from Alberta arrived mid afternoon to assist. But the evening of the day the fire started, four crews and three helicopters were also working to contain the fire. Crews from Wood Buffalo National Park also assisted early in the response. An incident management team, additional crews, and additional air tankers were also on site the next day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this fire is still being actioned although it's being held. We know personnel time out and replacements are needed. I ask the Minister, did the department bring in replacement personnel equipment from other regions or out of territory; and, what is the department's longterm plan for personnel and equipment considering the potential for fires this season? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The first transition of overhead and crew have already occurred and allowed firefighters to have some much time needed off. Overhead and crews from around the territory serve as the original responders and 24 extra firefighters from across the NWT have been hired and are assisting.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, knowing that we have had an early start to the fire season, I ask the Minister what plans are in place to help communities with fire smarting, such as building fire guards around the community, or is that responsibility placed squarely on the shoulders of the community governments and who would fund such initiatives? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the responsibility for fire smarting in NWT communities is shared by all. And you heard me in my Minister's statement here, it includes the public, homeowners, local, territorial, and federal governments. All 29 forest communities in the NWT have community wildfire protection plans that help guide them in preparing and responding to wildfires. ECC has worked with communities to make sure their plans are updated and continue to provide ongoing advice and assistance to help them implement their plans. The NWT Association of Communities recently received $20 million in federal funding which can assist communities in implementing part of their community wildfire protection plan.
Mr. Speaker, as I said before, it is a collective group approach to it and so we all need to take responsibility to make sure our communities and our residents are safe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
