N.W.T. Highway 3 may close with little notice due to smoke from a nearby forest fire, says the N.W.T. Department of Transportation.

Officials say the smoky conditions are between Fort Providence and Behchoko, from kilometre 172 to 185.

The highway is currently open. Drivers can check for road conditions and possible closures on the department's website or on its Twitter account.

The highway is the sole road connection from the south to communities in the North Slave region, including Yellowknife.

A view of N.W.T. Highway 3 as seen from the Department of Transportation's Chan Lake cam about 78 kilometres northeast of Fort Providence. (N.W.T. Dept. of Transportation)

The highway closed frequently and for lengthy periods during last summer's record fire season, stranding truckers and travellers and delaying deliveries to the region's stores.

The City of Yellowknife imposed a mandatory fire ban today due to the dry conditions.

34 N.W.T. fires as of Monday

Thirty-four fires have been reported in the N.W.T. so far this season, compared to about five fires in May of last year.

Four of the fires were human caused and about 29 were caused by lightning.

"We're starting out this year well in advance of where we were last year in terms or temperature and precipitation," said N.W.T.'s manager of Fire Operations, Richard Olsen.

"We have a noticeable increase in the amount of fires for this year."

About 1,000 hectares of bush has burned so far. No communities are threatened.