Storm Hills NWS Station

NoneCA 🇨🇦 Closed Airport

ICAO

CA-0777

IATA

-

Elevation

- ft

Region

CA-NT

Local Time

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Airport Information

GPS Code: Not available

Local Code: Not available

Location: 68.894167° N, -133.941944° E

Continent: NA

Type: Closed Airport

Terminal Information Not Available
Terminal arrivals and departures are only available for airports with scheduled commercial service and IATA codes.

External Links

Nearby Points of Interest

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Airport Information

Airport Closure Information

Last updated: Jul 25, 2025
Closure Date

Approximately 1989-1990

Reason for Closure

Military obsolescence. The airstrip was part of the Storm Hills Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line radar station, designated BAR-D. The entire DEW Line system was declared obsolete with the decline of the Soviet bomber threat and the advent of ICBMs and satellite surveillance. The system was replaced by the more modern and largely automated North Warning System (NWS), leading to the closure and deactivation of this and many other sites.

Current Status

The site is abandoned. Following its deactivation, the Storm Hills station, like other DEW Line sites, underwent extensive environmental cleanup and remediation managed by Canada's Department of National Defence. This process involved the removal of hazardous materials (like PCBs from electrical equipment) and contaminated soils, as well as the demolition of all buildings and structures. Today, the gravel airstrip is likely still visible from the air but is unmaintained, unusable, and is slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding tundra. The location is extremely remote and uninhabited.

Historical Significance

The Storm Hills airstrip was not a public airport. Its sole purpose was to provide logistical support for the BAR-D DEW Line station, which was an unmanned 'Intermediate' or 'Gap Filler' radar site. Built in the mid-1950s as part of a joint US-Canadian defense effort during the Cold War, the DEW Line was a chain of radar stations across the Arctic intended to detect incoming Soviet bombers. Operations at the Storm Hills airstrip were minimal, consisting of periodic visits from small ski/tundra tire-equipped aircraft (like the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter) or helicopters. These flights would bring maintenance crews and supplies from larger, permanently staffed DEW Line main stations, such as BAR-2 at Tuktoyaktuk. The identifier 'CA-0777' is not an official ICAO or Transport Canada code but appears in some unofficial, user-contributed flight simulator and GPS databases.

Reopening Prospects

There are no plans or prospects for reopening the airstrip. It served a single, highly specific military purpose that no longer exists. The location is exceptionally remote, with no resident population, industry, or economic activity that would justify the cost of rebuilding and maintaining an airfield.

Nearby Airports

Tununuk DEW Line Station
CA-0389
NoneCA
Closed Airport
~32 km away
Inuvik Townsite Airport
CA-0170
NoneCA
Closed Airport
~59 km away
Inuvik/Shell Lake Seaplane Base
CEE3
NoneCA
Seaplane Base
~65 km away
Inuvik Mike Zubko Airport
YEV • CYEV
Inuvik, CA
Medium Airport Scheduled Service
~68 km away
Tuktoyaktuk / James Gruben Airport
YUB • CYUB
Tuktoyaktuk, CA
Small Airport
~70 km away
Tuktoyaktuk (Imperial) Airport
CA-0388
Tuktoyaktuk, CA
Closed Airport
~71 km away
Distances are approximate and calculated as straight-line distances.

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