Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand the frustration of the community given the amount of smoke that it is creating and the fact that it is burning in the caribou area. It is unfortunate that these things happen. On the day that the fire was spotted, I think that it was on the 27th, the fire was relatively small. There were a lot of other fires and extreme conditions right across the southern part of the Northwest Territories. The decision was made, at that time, not to fight the fire. That decision is made by the regional fire people who are responsible for that area.
Since that time the fire has been monitored, and it is true, there was no action taken on the fire besides monitoring it, until July 3rd. Since that time we have continued to have aircraft and crews working on the fire to try to contain it. The fire is presently over 1,600 hectares. It is locked in on the north by an old burn and on the west, I believe, by a number lakes. It is mainly on the south side of the fire that action is being taken today. Thank you.