Another fire in Inuvik

Firefighters were called to this house on Saturday after it caught fire.

No one was injured, but the building suffered a lot of damage.

The dry climate here means that fires are a real danger, even in winter.

Tuktoyaktuk, part 5: Father’s House and the St.Vincent-de-Paul

This is Tuktoyaktuk’s ”St.Vincent de Paul” community store, which allows people to donate and salvage items. It’s also a cozy place for people to take shelter from the cold.

The churches in Tuktoyaktuk and especially the Catholic Church with resident sister Faye Trombley are very active in Tuktoyaktuk.

Here is Sister Faye (left) plucking geese with a girl from the community, on the front steps of the Catholic building called Father’s House.

Tuktoyaktuk on a sunny afternoon part 4

Here’s the bay in Tuktoyaktuk which is the beginning of the ice road. In the distane are a pingo and the beginnings of a tee-pee shape.

Tuktoyaktuk on a sunny afternoon, part 3

Tuktoyaktuk is a community of about 900 people which can be reached by ice road a few months of the year.

As you can see from the last picture, someone there has a St.Bernard.

Many of the buildings are getting quite old.

Tuktoyaktuk on a sunny afternoon: Part 2

Driving to Tuktyaktuk, the sun is diffused by ”ice fog.”

A pingo can be seen in the first picture.

Tuktoyaktuk on a sunny afternoon: Part 1

Here’s a truck maintaining the ice road on the way to Tuktoyaktuk.

 

Arctic Sports: Preparing for the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse

The Arctic Winter Games are coming up and they include arctic sports. Games like the one-foot high kick, two-foot high kick, Alaskan high-kick, the airplane, etc.

These photos were taken at the recent tryouts held in Inuvik at Sie Alexandre Mackenzie School.

 

A walk around Boot Lake in the fresh snow

A blanket of snow covers the trees and trails (and even half of one unused building.)

This time of year is very nice as the sunlight returns.

 

The rolling channel

Inuvik has a television channel which is nothing but a Powerpoint presentation. It loops 24 hours a day and allows for advertising of town events, jobs, notices, happy birthday messages, etc.

It’s an extremely useful service, which people call ”the rolling channel.”

Darkness on the edge of town

Inuvik, at night, is a small illuminated patch surrounded by darkness.

Northern lights over Inuvik

A Monday night walk under the northern lights, in early February.

Beautiful sun in the afternoon

A raven enjoys the sunset around 5:30 in the afternoon, before flying away.

The days are now getting longer.

 

After the house fire: Frozen and burned

The day after the house fire, the house was covered in icicles: This is the water pumped by firefighters.

No heat left here.

House fire: No one injured

A house caught fire this week. It was -35 degrees and the firefighters had to struggle with frozen pipes for a few minutes.

Thankfully there was no wind, the fire was contained to one building.

Inuvik has volunteer firefighters. They keep cell-phones or radios on them during their day jobs, and can rush out in case of emergency.

The dry climate makes buildings prone to fires.

 

Flags ripped by the wind

These two flags at the Inuvik Regional Hospital whipped so fast they tore.

One hundred kilometre-an-hour wind causes damage!

Ice fog at night: -40c

Visibility gets very poor when the temperature gets cold. The ice fog tends to stay low to the ground at minus 40 celcius or colder.

Winter cycling, continued: Saturday groceries

Front rack and bungee cords allow for the carrying of groceries. Frozen foods arrive still frozen, of course…

Crews shoveling show, 8am

Here’s a shot of workers shoveling snow after the blizzard.

Strong winds continue today, with gusts about 50km/hour.

This shot also gives you an idea of the darkness in the morning just before 9am.

Frozen door

Here is the keyhole at the office. Cold temperatures outside.

Worst blizzard in years: Scenes from Inuvik

Inuvik is one of many communities hit by a blizzard today.

Winds were gusting to more than 90 kilometres an hour. Many people who tried to drive were getting stuck on the roads, and both the schools and government offices shut down.

These photos were taken today around 6pm

The sun returns to the arctic circle

The sun is back!

It had been about 30 days since people in town had last seen it.

Now the days will continue to get longer by a few minutes a day.

 

Sunrise Festival 2012: Fireworks at 30 below in Inuvik

Every year the community hosts a short celebration to mark the return of the sun. Tonight temperatures were around -30 c.

People held a large fire near the golf course and watch fireworks while sipping hot chocolate. This year was a big show with fireworks sending loud cracks echoing across the golf course.

Some people drove to Inuvik from Tuktoyaktuk for the occasion by means of the ice road.

Lights out: Second (short) electricity outage this week

Last night around 11:30, Inuvik’s electricity went out for about a half-hour. This is the second outage this week; the other one happened earlier this week and lasted about an hour.

Most of the power currently comes from turbines burning natural gas; however there is a diesel backup system. (It might be used more in the future, as Inuvik is looking for a new source of natural gas.)

The Inuvik Regional Hospital and other places have backup generators in case this happens.

Mario pipes: The utilidors

Here’s a section of the town’s utilidors, which looks like a big red bolt.

The utilidors need a lot of repair in some parts, they are getting old…

Videoconference: Vancouver to Inuvik

Parks Canada recently set up a videoconference between Grade 4 students in Inuvik and Vancouver.

The BC class was on a field trip at the Vancouver Aquarium. They were learning about the arctic and got to ask a few questions from the young people in Inuvik, and vice-versa.

The Vancouver children were impressed to learn about the lack of sunlight this time of year, how cold it was, etc.

A neat little exchange.

Purple and blue hues at 11am

Here’s the sun-glow starting to appear on a lazy Christmas weekend…just before noon.

 

 

Grocery shopping: Stanton’s grocery store

Stanton’s is one of Inuvik’s three grocery stores. They carry produce, dry foods, cans and bread which they sell frozen.

It’s an excellent store which is geared a little more towards large orders. Most people bring their cars and stock up on boxes of food.

The ice crossings which intercut the Dempster Highway recently opened, which means we have more fresh food coming in.

Signs from the Inuvialuktun class

A small group of people take Inuvialuit-language courses at the recreation centre every week.

Here are some signs, with colourful reminders of words and phrases.

Inuvik’s gym facilities: Open 24 hours a day

During the winter it’s always a good idea to get active. Inuvik has great gym facilities which are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The passes are only about $40 a month and you get a magnetic swipe card. You can stop by any time. There are treadmills, weights, rowing machines, presses, stair machines and more.

Nice to see: A solid doghouse

It’s always nice to see a dog with a well-built and roomy doghouse. Often here you see dogs tied to posts and exposed to the elements.

This one even has a name tag and lucky horseshoe. To whoever did this: well done!

 

Winter glow at lunch, dec 24

winter glow at lunch, dec 24

As a mirror to a summer post, here’s the glow around 12 noon on Dec. 24. Not exactly the equinox but certainly one of the shortest days of the year.

As you can see, there is no such thing as ”24-hour darkness” here, there is always a glow even if you don’t see the sun for a few weeks.

Here was the photo taken at midnight in July. http://inuvikphil.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/midnight-watch.jpg

Inuvik’s Mosque under northern lights

Northern lights were swirling above Inuvik recently. The mosque (now installed a year ago and counting!) has a bright spire with a crescent moon.

Making the ice road: Outside Tsiigehtchic

Making an ice road sometimes means flooding with water. You add a few inches. wait for it to freeze, and then repeat later.

Here, a crew outside Tsiigehtchic uses a water sprayer across the frozen Mackenzie and Arctic Red rivers, to solidify the ice crossing for the winter season.

Driving at night on the Dempster Highway

The short sunlight hours — we’re almost the darkest time of the year now — mean a lot of driving with headlights on. This photo was taken around 4pm, but it was as dark as the late night.

Tsiigehtchic: A quiet and scenic community

There isn’t much noise as you walk around Tsiigehtchic, pop. 120

The little town has an amazing view of the Arctic Red and Mackenzie Rivers, and it’s also known as a fishing village in the summer. There is a post office, a school, a skating rink, a local Gwich’in Band (with Chief) and a small store. Also new this year is an Aurora College centre for adult education.

Beautiful sunrise at 1pm on the Dempster Highway

This time of year there is a beautiful pink hue to the sky during long sunrises. Some friends and I took a car to Tsiigehtchic on the weekend for some sightseeing.

The sun was still very orange around 1:30pm…and it was dark by 4:30.

 

Saturday morning: Stray dogs roam on the street

“Enjoy the freedom before they notice we’re gone…..”

Inuvik craft fair: Art and economic activity

craftfair2011 (4)

This weekend, crafters in Inuvik sold their wares. Seal-skin boots and mittens, beaver-fur hats, quilts, muskrat hats, carvings, prints, gloves and plenty of food were available.

The craft fair is always a big draw, and crafters fly in from surrounding communities.

Watch out, the Dempster Highway can be slippery

Spotted on the way to Tsiigehtchic: Looks like a motorist lost control for unknown reasons and skidded off the raised Dempster Highway. (The highway is on a raised platform made of gravel, so the traffic will not disturb the permafrost underneath.)

Inuvik in the snow: Town seen from above

Here’s a quiet view of Inuvik in the November snow. We’re now hitting tmeperatures of minus 30 celcius.