Storm Hills NWS Station

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.

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.

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.

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.