We're on fire: Here's a playlist for summer in N.W.T.

With wildfires raging in the Northwest Territories, it's been a summer of road closures, thick smoke and evacuations for people in the territory. Trail's End host Allison Devereaux created a playlist of fire songs to help us through. 

Whitehorse - I'm on Fire

Whitehorse is not from Whitehorse, though the married duo has shown the North some love. Toronto-based Melissa McLelland and Luke Doucet have performed, separately and together, in Yellowknife, Whitehorse and Dawson City.  Here's their version of Springsteen's "I'm On Fire."

Luke Bryan - Rain is a Good Thing

This summer's most requested song at Snowshoe Inn in Fort Providence, which holds a weekly karaoke night.  The community of about 800, home to the Deh Cho Bridge, is seeing an increase in the number of newcomers taking the mic on Friday nights. They're hosting people stuck on the highway from Yellowknife to southern Canada, due to on-and-off road closures and low visibility caused by thick smoke. 

Trammp - Disco Inferno

Sometimes you have to start fires to manage fires.  As he does so, a firefighter from Inuvik says this 1976 tune always comes to mind. 

Indio Saravanja - Rain Will Fall Tomorrow

The title of this song by a Yellowknife houseboater captures the hope many of us hold.

Natalie Merchant - Kind and Generous

An overwhelming number of songs requested this summer are for firefighters working hard. Listener Bea Lepine of Hay River wrote to us, "I would like to thank the people who work in forest fire operations, from the firefighter to all of the people who support them and the aircrews. Without your efforts we may have lost a lot." Here's a thank you tune. 

R Harlan Smith - After the Fire

A day we're waiting for, and a song suggestion from Dene Dayalti'l host Tony Buggins. 

Erebus and Terror - Down by the Fire

We're sacrificing campfire season for those blazing fires in the distance. This Yellowknife band can help us daydream about marshmallows, cozy hoodies and campfire songs of summers gone by. 

Bob Dylan - Buckets of Rain 

When asked how much rain the territory needs to douse the flames, Environment Canada's Senior Climatologist Dave Phillips responded, "You need a monsoon."  Phillips says the N.W.T. saw just four days of rain in June and July, "enough to fill a thimble."

Wilderness of Manitoba - Summer Fires

Toronto-based Wilderness of Manitoba sings "All is well that ends well." Mike Flannigan, professor of Wildland Fire at University of Alberta, says some fire could be pushed underground if conditions are right.  Let's hope rain falls before the snow arrives. 

Have a song you think we missed? Email [email protected] or tweet @allisondev.