YELLOWKNIFE (JULY 2, 2024; 2:15pm) — The following statement was issued attributable to Mike Westwick, Wildfire Information Officer, Government of the Northwest Territories:
“The NWT’s Office of the Chief Coroner has confirmed a contract helicopter pilot lost their life working to protect the people and community of Fort Good Hope.
“Our thoughts are with the pilot’s family, friends and colleagues in the wake of this tragedy.
“Our hearts are broken by the loss of a member of our wildfire family.
“The ripples of these events spread far and wide in the firefighting community in the NWT, Canada and beyond, given the close and interwoven personal connections formed over many years. Our priority above all else is our team’s wellness.
“Counselling is available to members of our wildfire management team to help them process this incident.
“We have also ensured that any staff or contractors, regardless of which worksite they were at across the NWT, who needed time off from work were given that opportunity.
“We will continue to support the contractor and investigators in their work to understand exactly what happened.
“Any lessons which come from this investigation will be applied to all of our wildfire operations going forward.
“The safety of our firefighters and all of our wildfire management team is our highest priority, and we will continue to take every measure across the organization to put safety first.”
For more information, contact:
NWT Wildfire Information
867-445-5484