Temporary relief after a morning of rainfall dampened wildfire fuel while lifting spirits.
“Everybody was talking about rain,” Fort Simpson Mayor Les Wright told CBC News Wednesday afternoon.
“It was great, was relieving to see the rain, feel the rain.”
But officials say there’s still lots of work ahead.
A wildfire threatening the Dehcho community has displaced residents from their homes since June 28, with one home burning over the weekend.
Forrest Tower, a wildfire information officer, said the rain is unlikely to have much impact on long-term fire behaviour but it does reduce the threat of embers burning buildings in the community and allows firefighters to focus on attacking the wildfire directly.
“There is still a lot of fire and I don't want to make any guarantees that, you know, it's extinguished, but we're getting there,” he said.
He said that hot dry conditions could return in the next day or two, depending on temperatures after the rainfall, but any reprieve is welcome. “It does give a bit of a breather,” he said.
In the days ahead Tower said crews are focused on reducing fuel near the airport, where fire is currently burning right to the edge of the airstrip, and securing the ferry landing.
“For the broader picture of the big fire, not enough [rain] to have a major impact but really, you know, we're focused on the town of Fort Simpson, the residential area, the highway corridor down to the ferry landing. That's sort of our big priority area.”
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