The Forest Management Division, ENR, has a mandate to discover and report all wildfires. Because the NWT forests are so vast (approximately 33 million hectares) ENR uses a variety of detection techniques to locate forest fires, including fire lookouts, aerial patrol with airplanes, helicopters with firefighters onboard, ground patrols, and the cooperation of business and industry, as well as the general public.

Fixed Detection

Fire lookouts are located where visibility is favourable, to detect and report wildfires. Lookouts consist of either cabins (located on mountain tops), or steel towers located on the highest ground in critical forest areas. The government of the NWT of the NWT has 15 lookouts, eleven of which are steel towers and four of which are cabins with cupolas. Most of these towers are staffed full time while others are staffed as required, depending on weather conditions or expected fire activity. Lookout observers discover approximately 13% of all wildfires annually.

Aerial Detection

The Forest Management Division utilizes fixed-wing aircraft to provide aerial detection during periods of increased hazard and over known gaps in the fixed detection system. Air patrols are flown in association with the Lightning Detection System which tracks lightning storms as they occur in the NWT or a period of days after a lightning storm has passed to locate holdover fires (fires can smolder underground for days before they may surface and produce detectable smoke). This ensures a swift and prompt assessment and response. Aerial detection accounts for 62% of the discoveries of wildfires in the NWT on an annual basis.

Public Detection

Public detection sources can account for up to 25% of wildfire discoveries in any given fire year. This component of our wildfire detection system is extremely valuable and includes members of the general public, other government agencies, and various business and industrial interests. Anybody can report a wildfire by calling the TOLL FREE 1-877-NWT-FIRE or 1-877-698-3473 hotline number. Active participation by the public is a very positive asset to the overall detection system.