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Foreward

Visitors who drive along the Airport Road toward the Town of Inuvik may not notice a grown-over fire guard that runs eastward and up the hill across from the Juk Campground. To residents of Inuvik who were in town during the month of August in 1968, this cutline has a special meaning. On hot days in summer when the smoke drifts into town from distant fires, these people remember that the fire guard was built to protect the Town from a fire that broke out on August 8 and burned for 10 long days.

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The Northern Forest is a Fire Forest

In the boreal forest, or taiga, there is usually enough burnable material, or fuel, to carry a fire, provided that this fuel is sufficiently dry. When hot spring, summer or autumn days dry out the fuel, a lightning strike or a spark from an abandonded campfire could lead to a fire.

Throughout the boreal forest, there is evidence of fire in the form of charred stumps, snags and tree-ring scars on live trees. Fire scars are common on the bases of pine trees and less common on thin-barked spruce and larch that grow in the wetter parts of the landscape. Fire scars on trees can be dated by counting the number of annual growth rings after fire damages a tree. Because of this, we know that there is one fire every 30 to 60 years in pine forests and one fire every 100 to 200 years in black and white spruce forests. Wetlands burn less frequently. Bog and lake sediments have layers of charcoal that provide an even longer fire history, often extending to thousands of years. These studies tell us that fire frequencies have been low during cool and wet climate periods such as during the Little Ice Age (in the years 1300 to 1700) and much higher during the past few decades.

The amount of snow and rain during the autumn, winter and spring strongly determine the dryness of the fuel in the spring and early summer, but it is the summer weather that has an even greater influence on fire behaviour. The long day lengths of summer lead to much water loss from the soil (evaporation) and from forest vegetation (transpiration). Thunderstorms ignite fuels with lightning and the accompanying rain may not be sufficient to put out a fire. Most fires occur in July; but some of the largest and deepest-burning fires have occurred in August.

Fires are especially common in the Mackenzie Valley. Fire history maps (available from the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Government of the Northwest Territories) show many large fires southeast and northwest of Great Slave Lake. North of the tree line, fires generally become less frequent and smaller. However, even at the tree line, fires can still be many square kilometres in size. Over the last 25 years the number of fires per year in the Northwest Territories has varied widely. While fire occurrence records in the 1950's may not be complete, there is general agreement that the number of fires was lower. The years 1973, 1989, 1993 and 1994 were spectacular fire years with the number of fires reaching over 400.

Community protection from fire is an important issue in the North; almost every summer some community is threatened. Children and adults with respiratory problems can suffer because of the smoke and evacuation of the community may be necessary. The table found below gives a few examples:

YEARCOMMUNITY THREATENEDACTION TAKEN
1968Inuvik, NTFire guards built around town
1982Fort Smith, Pine Point and Hay River, NTHighways closed, Hay River prepared for evacuation
1993Norman Wells, NTCommunity threatened
1995Tulita and Norman Wells900 residents evacuated
1998Ingraham Trail, NTState of emergency declared, area closed to traffic and residents
1999Tsiigehtchic, NTTown threatened, highway closed
1999Edzo, NTCommunity evacuated

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The Inuvik Fire Regime

Fires have long influenced the upland landscapes of the Inuvik area. The roots of Black Spruce trees killed by fires stay frozen in the permafrost and decompose slowly. For decades the trees remain as weathered, gray sticks, while the young forest grows up around them. Many black and white spruce trees along streams have fire scars on the lower parts of their trunks, which shows that fire reached them but was not intense enough to kill thre trees. From fire suppression and other records, we know that there have been several large fires northeast of Sitidgi Lake that burned in 1954 and another that burned in 1962. The year 1968 was a special year since three major fires burned near Inuvik.

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Conditions Before the 1968 Inuvik Fire

Fire was a constant threat to the newly constructed Town of Inuvik. The Town was built in the bush; all buildings were constructed of wood and supported about one metre above the ground on wooden piles. The Town was isolated and transportation to the south was by small planes or by barge in the open water season. Most of the winter supply of food and other goods, which had arrived by barge, was stored at the Hudson Bay Company Warehouse located in the northern part of town.

Normally, average daily temperatures in Inuvik first rise above zero in May. Temperatures typically reach 10°C in June, 12°C in July and 10°C in August, dropping back to zero in September. Precipitation in the Inuvik region averages 18 mm in May, 22 mm in June, 26 mm in July, 42 mm in August and 22 mm in September.

The summer weather for 1968 was not normal. Only 8.3 mm of precipitation fell between May 12 and August 18. The fuel in the shrubby forests around Inuvik was dry and there was plenty of it - there had not been a fire in the immediate area for about 100 years. Paper birch grew on the south, southwest and west slopes on the hills behind town. White spruce grew along the sides of the streams. In the lower and wetter areas, black spruce grew among shrubs and mosses.

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The Fire Begins

August 8 had weather conditions that were favourable for a serious fire. It was a day waiting for a spark and an unattended campfire behind the CBC Tower provided that spark! Fire #21, located southeast of Arctic Red River, was already contributing smoke in the area and fire managers were watching the weather closely. Marty Alexander of the Canadian Forestry Service has calculated the fire weather indices to help us understand the fire behaviour during the summer. The Fine Fuel Moisture Code was over 90, indicating that the dead grass and small sticks on the forest floor were dry and would burn readily. The Drought Code was also high at 440, indicating long-term drought and dry soil surface organic matter. Under these conditions, fire would smoulder to the mineral soil through the peat and around tree roots, making it very difficult for fire fighters to locate and put out the hot spots. These are permafrost soils, so they supply melt water to the soil all summer and keep some of the peat moist. The moist peat contributes to smoky fires that reduce visibility and make fire fighting uncomfortable and dangerous.

Under low wind speeds, the fire burned slowly through the shrubs. On reaching a spruce tree with branches that touched the ground, the fire climbed the ladder fuels and enveloped the tree. Under paper birch, the flames crept through the leaf litter and sometimes licked up the tree trunk through the papery, outer bark. Under high wind conditions, and where white and black spruce trees grew close together, flames were more spectacular and the radiation was intense enough that fire fighters had to retreat.

YEARFIRE #LOCATIONSIZE (HA)LENGTH OF BURN
1954n/aKugalik River~200,000unknown
1954n/aNorth Miner River50,000unknown
196868-22Hyndman Lake50,770unknown
196868-34Inuvik35,120August 8 - 18
196868-36Campbell Lake32,980? - August 19
198282-03Campbell Creek3,700June 26 - July 16
198282-11North Nineline Lake18,731July 4 - Winter
199999-006Cardinal Lakes175,000June 18 - September

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The Fire - August 8-18

The Inuvik Drum, News of the North and the Edmonton Journal included details on fire suppression of this high profile fire. One Inuvik resident, Dick Hill, (at that time Manager of the Northern Research Laboratory) kept a detailed record of the fire-related activities (his accounts are listed in the Bibliography at the back of this book under Hill 1969a, b).

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Thursday, August 8

11:00 - A campfire is spotted behind the CBC Tower, 3 km southeast of Inuvik.

14:00 - Fire Number 34 is officially reported as spreading; an alarm is given and 12 firefighters of the Inuvik Fire Brigade, along with Inuvik Forestry Officer Wilf Taylor, respond. The fire truck cannot reach the site - although the fire at this point is only 15 metres in diameter, the fire pump fails and the fire escapes.

18:30 - The fire has traveled uphill a distance of 1.6 km.

21:00 - The fire approaches the Town pump house at the west side of Hidden Lake. Small bulldozers owned by Fred Norris and Northern Affairs clear a fire guard around the pump house; an airplane is dispatched to Aklavik, Fort McPherson and Reindeer Station to bring in extra fire fighting equipment and men.

21:30 - 30 km/hr winds push the fire around to the east side of Hidden Lake and towards Inuvik, smoke is thick over Inuvik and 150 volunteers both in and out of town are now involved.

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Friday, August 9

A high wind turns to the southwest and blows all day; fire fighters arrive from other settlements; 6 bulldozers are operating and 45 men are fighting the fire on the ground; a bulldozer clears cutlines northeast of Inuvik.

16:00 - By this time the fire has spread to 15 km2 in size and has reached Navy Road.

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Saturday, August 10

Imperial Oil's D-8 Cat and operators are barged from the oil exploration camp on Richard's Island and start to clear firebreaks around Inuvik. Two smaller bulldozers, one owned by Northern Affairs and one owned by Fred Norris, are also used.

11:30 - The fire crosses the fireguard above Gaynor's Lake and moves towards the north shore of Taylor Lake.

13:00 - The Liquor Store in Inuvik closes and the Mackenzie Hotel is ordered to stop serving "alcohol refreshments" by the Commissioner of the NWT in Yellowknife.

16:00 - The fire has spread to the the hills 1.5 km east of Canadian Forces Base (CFB); wind from the north and northeast pushes the fire towards the base.

20:00 - More fire breaks are constructed to protect warehouses north of town; 80 fire fighters and CFB personnel are on site.

21:00 - The fire crosses Navy Road - there is much smoke. Twenty-five (25) wooden power poles that were weakened by burning fall over and drop high voltage wires which cut communications with CFB. One bulldozer operator is forced to abandon his machine. At CFB steel communications towers fall when their wood pile supports burn. Water is sprayed on and around buildings in town. The RCMP closes the road at the north end of Inuvik. Fire burns over the hills to the southeast of Town. Fire crews concentrate their efforts north of Airport Road between Gaynor's and Taylor Lakes.

23:00 - The fire spreads to three kilometers from the Radio Transmission Towers at Airport Road; wind speed drops.

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Sunday, August 11

02:00 - Fire fighters from CFB return to Inuvik after the power poles blocking the road are cut and removed. There are low wind speeds most of the day. Smoke reduces visibility to 400 metres in town. Inuvik is now completely surrounded by fire breaks. An Otter water bomber arrives from Yellowknife but smoke makes an air survey of the fire difficult.

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Monday August 12

The weather in Inuvik is calm, with low wind speeds, a temperature of 20.3°C and a relative humidity that has increased to 43%. The fire is now 2.4 km from Airport Road and north of the Radio Towers. A bulldozer works at making a clearing around the towers. Other fires in the region contribute to the huge amount of smoke in the area.

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Tuesday, August 13

The entire area of the fires is finally able to be surveyed by Ron Williams, a Game Officer. The fire is found to be 16 by 24 kilometers in size, while the active fire is located 6 kilometers east of Inuvik. 14 firefighters, 3 bulldozers and one Otter water bomber are currently active in fighting the fire.

16:00 - The fire is contained east of Inuvik.

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Wednesday, August 14

Most firefighting crews return to Inuvik. The force is reduced to 24 firefighters who are kept on standby and to collect equipment from the fire lines. The fire continues to burn from Noel Lake westward towards the East Channel of the Mackenzie River.

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Thursday, August 15

16:00 - The fire flares up between Gaynor's Lake and Airport Road.

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Friday, August 16

09:30 - The fire crosses the fireguard to the east of Taylor Lake.

15:00 - The fire crosses the fireguard at the gravel pit.

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Saturday, August 17

The fire is under control everywhere except alongside the East Channel.

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Sunday, August 18

11:30 - A light rain begins to fall.

17:00 - 2.2 millimetres of rain have fallen.

18:00 - The fire boundaries are patrolled for the last time.

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Monday, August 19

By Monday, 20 millimetres of rain have fallen.

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Costs of the Fire

In total, 450 persons participated in working on the Inuvik Fire and about 12,000 person-hours were spent directly fighting the fire. The fire covered a total of 350 square kilometers (including 11.5 square kilometers in tundra) and 30 kilometers of fireguard were constructed by bulldozers. About $54,000 (1968 dollars) was spent on labour and equipment rental. The estimated loss of timber was almost $160,000 (1968 dollars).

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After the Fire

Winter 1968-69: The burned area certainly looked like the taiga (a Russian word meaning "the land of little sticks") in the winter of 1968-69. Although unrecorded, the lack of shrubs on the burned hills behind Inuvik probably permitted snow to drift over the tundra-like conditions and into the valleys. Charcoal knocked from trees and burned stems of shrubs mixed with the snow.

Summer 1969: Snowmelt was probably early because charcoal particles in the snow absorbed the sun's radiation. The June to August precipitation for 1969 was the highest recorded between 1958 and 1992: air temperatures were near minimum for this period as well. Heat penetration into the moist soil was greater than normal because the fire had blackened the soil surface and removed much of the surface insulation of vegetation and organic soil. Permafrost retreated more than normal, ice-rich soil melted, soil subsidence occurred and water built up in the soil profile. After rains, saturated soils on steep slopes overcame the force of gravity and mudflows were common on the hills east of Inuvik. Even more dramatic erosion occurred on the bulldozed fireguards because of permafrost melting and rapid cutting of new channels. An example of this was located at the north end of Inuvik, where the combined effects of ice wedge melting in the original stream channel and the erosion caused by greater summer water flow from the burned watershed resulted in a 3 meter deep channel. During the petroleum exploration activities of the 1970s and 1980s, Dick Hill remembers this site being used by environmentalists as a typical example of "catastrophic petroleum industry damage" in the North.

The 1970's: Slightly higher than normal summer temperatures and precipitation continued to cause deeper than normal permafrost melt, more slope failures and continued melting and cutting of water channels in fire guards. In the burned area, nutrients became more readily available as the soil warmed. Plants (especially cottongrass) began to show rapid growth and much flowering.

After Five Years: Permafrost probably did not melt much further than in previous years. Plants such as cottongrass and reedgrass gave moist areas of the landscape a grassland-like appearance. Fireweed flowers on hillsides produced a solid rose-coloured blanket. Labrador tea was blooming everywhere and Blueberries produced much more fruit than in nearby unburned areas. Birch trees that had established in 1970 were about 50 cm in height.

Today: Many people drive between the Airport and the Town of Inuvik without seeing the burned area. Willow, alder and dwarf birch shrubs in the wetland beside the road are 3 m tall. Some of the dead black spruce trees are still standing as evidence of the fire. White and black spruce trees that established after the fire are now knee high. The south-west slopes behind Inuvik are covered by a blanket of 6 meter high paper birch trees. All of the paper birch trees that were killed in the fire have long fallen and most are already well rotted. Along streams, white spruce trees that escaped the fire continue to provide seeds to add more trees to the landscape. Here and there a few balsam poplar trees have found a new foothold in the forest and even on the tundra.

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Conclusions/The Future

Many lessons have been learned since the 1968 Inuvik fire and these are now incorporated into emergency and natural resources management practices. The fire fighting capability of forest managers in the Northwest Territories has been strengthened considerably in terms of equipment, trained personnel and procedures. Fires will continue to play out their natural ecological role because there are limited financial resources to manage fire over huge areas of the northern boreal forest. High priority protection is given largely to life and property. Even with these priorities, fire fighting continues to be expensive. In dry years fire fighting costs millions of dollars and towns have been evacuated both for safety and health reasons. Fire managers have encouraged the building of fireguards around towns in the forest regions of the Northwest Territories. These are very different from the fireguards of the South! In order to protect the insulating vegetation, which in turn protects the permafrost from melting, trees in the fire guard are often cut manually during the winter. Existing roads and lakes are incorporated into the fireguards.

In the Inuvik Region much of the vegetation has not burned for many years so there is sufficient fuel to carry a fire following exceptionally dry years as evidenced by the 175,000 hectare fire of 1999 that almost reached the road southeast of Inuvik. Today there is a potential for large fires, but much has changed since 1968. Our knowledge and understanding of how to manage and control fire has been strengthened considerably. The Inuvik Region Fire Base at Shell Lake continues to house personnel and equipment that manages fire in the region. Land ownership has changed due to the Inuvialuit and Gwich'in land settlements, so multi-agency cooperation is more important than ever. The Dempster Highway is an important supply corridor for fighting fires.

Around the Town of Inuvik there have been many changes that relate to fire. The Bypass Road to the east of Inuvik provides rapid transport of fire fighting equipment and personnel to any fires close to town. Fireguards were cut to the north of the town in September of 1995. Nevertheless, a threat of fire remains. The vegetation left within the fireguard and between Inuvik and the Airport probably represents the greatest fire hazard and fuel continues to build on the landscapes around Inuvik. Smoke from fires in the region will always pose a problem for air and surface transport and for people with respiratory health problems.

Tourists will continue to hear about the "Inuvik Fire" and wonder where it was; the elders will remember!

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Acknowledgements

The research reported here has received the continuing support of the Aurora Research Institute in terms of laboratory and office space as well as transportation. In alphabetical order, Marty Alexander, Alan Fehr, Mike Gravel and Rick Lanoville kindly contributed to the early drafts of the report. Dick Hill, Manager of the Northern Research Laboratory at the time of the fire, remembers the events vividly and generously supplied details to this report. Our fire research has been supported financially by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Donner Canadian Foundation, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the University of Alberta Canadian Circumpolar Institute and the Polar Continental Shelf Project.

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Glossary of Terms

Boreal forest - the northern forest that covers about one-third of Canada.

Drought Code (DC) - An indicator of long-term moisture conditions deep in soil organic layers. The maximum probable value is around 800.

Erosion - the movement of soil by gravity, wind or water. Often we mean accelerated erosion, which is more than normal and often follows disturbance to the vegetation so that the soil is exposed.

Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC) - A numerical rating (between a and 99) of the moisture content of forest floor litter. In a boreal forest a high potential for fire starts to exist once the FFMC reaches 86-89.

Fire frequency - The number of fire events that occur during a specific time span. We often use terms like fire return interval, which is the time period between fires that burn over a specific area.

Fireguards - A break made in the fuel by hand or machinery in order to stop or at least retard the fire.

Fuels - The combustible material is usually grouped into size classes such as lichens, grass, shrubs, and trees because the rates of combustion are different. Fuel types are easily recognized vegetation types such as white spruce, black spruce, dwarf shrubs or sedges.

Ice wedge - A frost crack that fills with ice. Ice wedges develop only in permafrost and may extend downwards for two or more metres.

Ladder fuels - These are tree branches that enable the fire to sweep into the crowns of trees. Tree species with many branches are black and white spruce. Mature jack pine trees have few branches but the bark can lead fire into the crown. Mature paper birch and aspen have few branches on the sterns and non-resinous leaves that do not burn readily.

Melt out - This usually refers to the accelerated melting of ice-rich permafrost.

Nutrients - These are minerals that are necessary for plant and animal growth.

Permafrost - Ground that has a temperature of below 0°C for more than two years.

Saturated soil - This refers to soil that is holding the maximum water possible.

Slope failure - When an area of soil is so heavy that it overcomes the force of gravity and slips down a slope, we indicate that the slope has failed.

Soil subsidence - Sinking of the earth's surface in response to geological or man-induced causes.

Tundra - Landscape where there is not enough energy during the short summer to enable trees to grow. There are both alpine and arctic tundra landscapes.

Transpiration - The passage of liquid water through a plant from the roots through the vascular system, and then to the atmosphere as water vapour.

Taiga - A Russian word meaning "the land of little sticks" which refers to the slow growth of trees in the northern forest. This is equal to the northern boreal forest.

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Glossary of Species Names

COMMON NAMESCIENTIFIC NAME
AlderAlnus crispus
Paper BirchBetula papyrifera
BlueberriesVaccinium spp.
CottongrassEriophorium vaginatum
FireweedEpilobium angustifolium
Labrador teaLedum palustris
ReedgrassCalamagrostis canadensis
Black sprucePicea mariana
White sprucePicea glauca

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A Bibliography for the Inuvik Fire

The following research papers and reports contain information on the Inuvik fire and changes after the fire. Two papers by w.J. Cody are included because they are from the Inuvik area and predate the Inuvik Fire. Newspaper reports can be found in the Inuvik Drum, News of the North and Edmonton Journal. Most of the reports are available for further study in the Aurora Research Institute Library.

Black, R.A., and L.C. Bliss, 1978: Recovery sequence of Picea mariana - Vaccinium uliginosum forests after burning near Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. Can. J. Bot. 56: 2020-2030.

Bliss, L.C. and R.W. Wein. 1972. Plant community responses to disturbances in the Western Canadian Arctic. Can. J. Bot. 50: 1097-1109.

Bliss, L.C. and R.W. Wein, 1971. Changes to the active layer caused by surface disturbance. In: Proceedings of a seminar on the permafrost active layer, 4 and 5 May 1971. pp. 37-46. Nat. Res. Council Can., Assoc. Comm. Geotech. Res., Ottawa, Tech. Mem. No. 103.

Cody, W.J. 1964. Reindeer range survey 1957 and 1963. Plant Res. Instit., Can. Dept. Agr., Ottawa. 15 pp.

Cody, W.J. 1965. Plants of the Mackenzie River Delta and Reindeer Grazing Preserve. Plant Res. Instit., Can. Dept. Agr., Ottawa. 56 pp.

Greene, D.E 1983: Permafrost, fire, and the regeneration of white spruce at tree-line near Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada; pp. 374-379. In: Permafrost Fourth International Conference Proceedings. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

Heginbottom, J.A. 1971. Some effects of a forest fire on the permafrost active layer at Inuvik, N.W.T. pp.31-36. In: R.J.E. Brown (ed), Proc. Seminar on Permafrost Active Layer, Can. Nat. Res. Council, Assoc. Comm. Geotech. Res., Tech. Mem. 103.

Heginbottom, J.A. 1973. Some effects of surface disturbance on the permafrost active layer at Inuvik, N.W.T Ottawa: Environment - Social Committee Northern Pipelines, Task Force on Northern Oil Development Report No. 73-16, 29 pp. and appendix.

Heginbottom, J.A. 1973. Some effects of surface disturbance on the permafrost active layer at Inuvik, N.W.T pp. 649-651. In: TL. Péwé and J. R. Mackay (eds). Second International Permafrost Conference, North American Contribution, National Academy Sciences, Washington, DC.

Heginbottom, J.A. 1974. The effects of surface disturbance on ground ice content and distribution. In: Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 741, Part A: 273.

Hill, R.M. 1969. Review of Inuvik forest fire August 8-18, 1968. Unpublished Report on file at the Inuvik Research Centre. 9 pp. plus map.

Hill, R.M. 1969. Review of Inuvik forest fire August 8-18, 1968. Arctic Circular XIX No. 1.

Landhausser, S.M. 1994. Climate change at the Arctic treeline. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. 104 pp.

Landhäusser, S.M. and R.W. Wein. 1993. Postfire vegetation recovery and tree establishment at the Arctic treeline: climate change-vegetation response hypotheses. J. Ecol. 81: 665672.

Lange, P. 1992. Fire and climate change on the instability and revegetation of permafrost soils. Diplomarbeit, Universität Tübingen, Germany. 47 pp.

MacKay, J.R. 1970. Disturbances to the tundra and forest tundra environment of the western Arctic. Can. Geotech. J. 7: 420-432.

MacKay, J.R. 1977. Changes in the active layer from 1968 to 1976 as a result of the Inuvik fire. In: Report of Activities, Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 77-1B, 273-275.

MacKay, J.R. 1977. Probing for the bottom of the active layer. In: Report of Activities, Part A: Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 77-1A: 327328.

MacKay, J.R. 1980. The origin of hummocks, western Arctic coast, Canada. Can. J. Earth Sci. 17: 996-1006.

MacKay, J.R. 1995. Active layer changes (1968 to 1993) following the forest-tundra fire near Inuvik, N.W.T, Canada. Arctic-Alpine Res. 27: 323-336.

MacKay, J.R. and D.K. MacKay. 1976: Cryostatic pressure in nonsorted circles (mud hummocks), Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Can. J. Earth Sci. 13: 889-897.

MacLean, D.A., S.J. Woodley, M.G. Weber and R.W. Wein. 1983. Fire and nutrient cycling. p. 111-132. In: Wein, R. W. and D.A. MacLean (eds.). The role of fire in northern circumpolar ecosystems. SCOPE 18, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Chichester, England. 322 pp.

Olsen, S.K. 1993. Simulated fire severity and seedling growth at treeline: a climate change analogue. M. Sc. Thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. 33 pp.

Sylvester, T.W. 1978. Fuel characteristics of plant communities near the Mackenzie Delta, N.W.T. M.Sc. Thesis, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick. 58 pp.

Sylvester, T.W. and R.W. Wein. 1981. Fuel characteristics of arctic plant species and simulated plant community flammability by Rothermel's model. Can. J. Bot. 59: 898-907.

Timoney, K.P. and R.W. Wein. 1991. The aerial pattern of burned tree vegetation in the subarctic region of northwestern Canada. Arctic 44: 223-230.

Weber, M.G. 1975. Nutrient redistribution following fire in tundra and forest-tundra. M.Sc. Thesis, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick. 69 pp.

Wein R.W. 1973. Biological flora of the British Isles: Eriophorum vaginatum L. J. Ecol. 61: 601-615.

Wein, R.W. 1976. Frequency and characteristics of arctic tundra fires. Arctic 29: 213-222.

Wein, R.W. and L.C. Bliss. 1973. Changes in Eriophorum tussock communities following fire. Ecology 54: 845-852.

Wein, R.W. and L.C. Bliss. 1974. Primary production in arctic cottongrass tussock communities. Arctic-Alpine Res. 6: 261-274.

Wein, R.W. and D.A. MacLean. 1973. Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum L.) germination requirements and colonizing potential in the Arctic. Can. J. Bot. 51: 2509-2513.

Wein, R.W., T.W. Sylvester and M.G. Weber. 1975. Recovery of arctic vegetation after burning. Arctic Land Use Program of D.I.N.A., Ottawa. 116 pp.

Woodley, S.J. 1979. Net nutrient loss from burned Arctic plant communities. M.Sc. Thesis, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick. 51 pp.

Zoltai, S.C. and W.W. Pettapiece. 1973. Studies of vegetation, landform and permafrost in the Mackenzie Valley. Ottawa: Environmental-Social Committee, Northern Pipelines, Task Force on Northern Oil Development Report No. 73-4: 105 pp.

Zoltai, S.C. and W.W. Pettapiece. 1974. Tree distribution on perennially frozen earth hummocks. Arctic - Alpine Res. 6: 403-411.

Zoltai, S.C., and C. Tarnocai. 1974. Soils and vegetation of hummocky terrain. Ottawa: Environmental Social Committee, Northern Pipelines, Task Force on Northern Oil Development Report No. 73-5: 86 pp.

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Inuvik Weather Measurements and Calculated Fire Weather Indices for 1:00 p.m., August 7 to 19, 1968

Date Weather Measurements Fire Weather Indices
Temperature
(°C)		 Relative Humidity Wind Rain
Dry Bulb Wet Bulb ( %0) (km/hr) (mm) FFMC1 DMC2 DC3 ISI4 BUI5 FWI6 DSR7 CDSR8
7 15 1.6 40 3 0 87.1 130 435 3.3 149 17 4.03 362.22
8 20.6 1.1 27 11 0 91 134 442 8.6 152 33 13.57 375.78
9 23.3 6.3 33 21 0 91.1 137 449 14.4 155 47 24.7 400.49
10 25.6 5.5 27 3 0 92.4 141 456 7 159 30 10.89 411.38
11 22.2 5.8 34 16 0 92.2 144 463 13.2 162 45 22.82 434.19
12 18.3 6.3 45 0 0 90.9 146 470 4.9 165 23 7.01 441.21
13 11.7 6 68 16 0 86.2 147 475 5.6 166 25 8.32 449.52
14 14.4 2.1 43 16 0 87.3 149 480 6.5 168 28 10.19 459.72
15 14.4 3.6 48 13 0 87.4 151 486 5.7 170 26 8.59 468.31
16 16.1 4 44 13 0 87.7 153 492 5.9 172 27 9.16 477.46
17 16.1 5.8 50 24 0 87.8 154 498 10.4 174 39 17.86 495.32
18 13.3 5 57 16 7.9 57.7 73 469 0.8 106 4 0.32 495.64
19 11.1 8.3 83 0 1.3 52.3 74 474 0.2 106 1 0.01 495.65
1 FFMC - Fine Fuel Moisture Code
2 DMC - Duff Moisture Code
3 DC - Drought Code
4 ISI - Initial Spread Index
5 BUI - Build Up Index
6 FWI - Fire Weather Index
7 DSR - Daily Severity Rating
8 CDSR - Cumulative Daily Severity Rating

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