These People Are Building Yellowknife’s Wildfire Defences

Meet Chris Greencorn, Pete Houweling, Kenny Ruptash and Steven Thomson. They’re some of the people building the massive defences – fire breaks, sprinkler lines, water cannon and more – that will be Yellowknife’s last line if a nearby wildfire reaches the city’s outskirts. Watch aerial footage of those defences supplied by Jay Bulckaert and Pablo Saravanja, plus more shots of the work from Cabin Radio’s Andrew Goodwin, who has stayed behind to help get everything built. Chris, Pete, Kenny and Steven will walk you through how everyone has been collaborating to get a huge amount done in a matter of days. Thank you to everyone doing this work and all those who took time to document it and submit footage. Your efforts are hugely appreciated by thousands of displaced residents. NOTE: Interview footage and most shots of defences were filmed on Sunday, August 20. Aerial footage of sprinkler systems is from Tuesday, August 22.