Hearne Lake Lodge no longer at risk from nearby wildfire, says N.W.T. Fire

Hearne Lake Lodge is no longer at risk from a wildfire burning east of Hearne Lake, according to N.W.T. Fire. 

In a post on Tuesday evening, N.W.T. Fire announced that the lodge, which had been facing a wildfire threat since the beginning of July, was "no longer at risk" from the flames. 

The lodge is about 60 kilometres east of Yellowknife.

The fire in question originally began as two separate wildfires but then merged together to form what Edie Yoder, the owner of Hearne Lake Lodge, classified as "a massive beast." She said it was hard to know how fast the flames were advancing toward the property. 

"It was just this beast, this monster that was growing so rapidly," Yoder said.

While this is the fifth year the lodge has eluded wildfires, Yoder said that this fire was the most "unsettling." 

The fire forced Yoder, her husband and their two dogs to evacuate twice to a small island nearby. There, they were able to keep an eye on it. Yoder's husband was also able to occasionally go back to the lodge and provide fuel to keep the water pumps and sprinkler system functional. 

N.W.T. Fire said the lodge's victory against the flames was largely due to the steps Yoder and her husband took to protect the property.

"Thanks to the proactive measures taken by Hearne Lake Lodge owners, crews were set up for success when it came to protecting structures from this wildfire," they wrote in a fire update. 

Yoder herself saw the moment the flames were stopped from reaching the house by the sprinklers. When the fire "hit the dome of moisture created by the sprinklers, we watched it stop in its tracks," Yoder said. The fire "just literally died in its tracks. It was amazing to see." 

While the lodge is no longer at risk, the fire burning east of Hearne Lake is still classified as out of control on the territory's wildfire map. N.W.T. Fire said the flames will continue to be monitored by fire crews.