How a 2014 wildfire evaded N.W.T. officials, and destroyed the Olesen home

An N.W.T. woman made several calls for help right before a wildfire destroyed her remote homestead near the Hoarfrost River, but fire officials, looking at outdated satellite images, didn't realize the gravity of her situation until it was too late.

CBC obtained a report from April 2015 commissioned by the N.W.T. Department of Environment and Natural Resources that examined how the department handled the 2014 fire that destroyed the Olesen family homestead.

The fire started on June 17 just east of Fort Reliance on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake. Two weeks later, and with a suddenness that nooneexpected, it destroyed the home that Dave and Kristen Olesen had built themselves, and raised their two daughters in.

• N.W.T. wildfire destroys a homestead 27 years in the making

By the time the fire burned itself out months later it had burned 145,796 hectares of boreal forest, becoming one of the largest fires of the 2014 season the worst on record for the territory.

The report shows both theOlesens and ENR knew there was a threat. For several weeks, communication between ENR and the Olesen family revolved around the size of the fire and options to protect the homestead if the fire grew.

The department has a policy to respond to all wildfires, prioritizing human life and property, while considering available resources.

"There were no definitive commitments from ENR" to set up pumps or sprinklers, the report says. The department also doesn't have a legal obligation to protect homes or cabins, although it says it does its best.

Fire raced 11 km in one day

On July 1, the fire began encroaching on what ENR calls "values at risk," including several historic sites on the Lockhart River. Dave Olesen, a private pilot, was helping ENR by flying gear and fire crews to the area.

Between July 1 and 3, the fire grew only a small amount to about 11 kilometres east of the Olesen homestead, the report notes.

On the morning of July 4, winds picked up and the fire raced the11 kilometres toward the homestead.

At 11:30 a.m, Kristen Olesen, who was home alone, called the territorial duty officer to tell the department she was concerned.

When fire officials checked their latest satellite image for the area, it showed the fire was still several kilometres to the east. In reality, it was less than a kilometre away.

By 3 p.m. the Olesen homestead was on fire.

MODIS maps outdated

The officials were looking at fire maps created through NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS.

The maps are updated multiple times a day and don't always show precise fire perimeters. The maps ENR officials were looking at were several hours old and didn't show the reality of where the fire was in relation to Olesen's homestead.

The report alsodescribes the communications as "one-way." Kristen Olesen called ENR several times that day; each time she was told the fire wasn't threatening the homestead.

During one call she offered to email a photo to one of the officials to show just how close the flames were. The email was sent around 2 p.m. but officials didn't see it.

It wasn't until the fire was at the Olesen's doorstep that officials began to see the gravity of the situation.

No one expected the fire to move 11 kilometres in one day.

"It was not until the final call to the [territorial duty officer] that the reality of an 11 kilometre fire run was understood and that Kristen was preparing for evacuation," the report says.

The department deployed tankers to fight the blaze around 4 p.m. They were grounded by heavy smoke shortly after.

'A lost opportunity'

The delayed response led to several "lost opportunities" by ENR when it came to protecting the homestead, according to the report.

But it also says that on July 4, 2014, ENR had a host of obstacles working against it, with several other massive fires threatening communities and concerned and curious residents tying up its phone system.

"The 2014 fire season persisted for over 100 days and the logistic, financial, communication and personnel issues were significant, particularly during the mid to late summer periods," the report says.

The report outlines a number of "lessons learned" and includes recommendations.

It recommends a communication specialist filter calls to the main fire telephone line so that emergency calls can be forwarded to fire officials immediately. It also recommends that fire officials be better trained at usingspecialized real-time fire maps.

The report states ENR needs to greatly improve on how it communicates with the public and those living close to fires.

Environment and Natural Resources Minister Wally Schumann was not immediately available to comment.

The Olesen family declined to comment, but did say that in the two years since their homestead burned, ENR has not provided them with any support or compensation.

They are in the midst of rebuilding.

• Read the full report