Whitehorse Daily Star

Work on wildfire to continue: officials

Action is continuing today on a forest fire east of Lake Laberge.

By Whitehorse Star on July 2, 2015

Action is continuing today on a forest fire east of Lake Laberge.

The one-hectare blaze was the only new one in the territory to be discovered Wednesday, Yukon Wildland Fire Management reported in its daily fire report this morning.

Firefighters responded by helicopter and contained the fire Wednesday, with work continuing today.

Action on priority fires is also continuing.

Among those is the more-than 1,500-ha fire in the Coal River Road area, 72 kilometres east of Watson Lake and 10 km north of the Alaska Highway.

Structural protection is in place on two cabins about two kilometres from the blaze, which remains 20 kilometres from Contact Creek and Iron Creek Lodge.

A total of 21 firefighters, five helicopters and a number of senior staff are on the site constructing a dozer line.

In the Mayo district, a ’dozer line is also being constructed.

Site protection has been put in place for several structures near Ethel Lake as firefighters continue to deal with the 3,300-ha blaze that’s 59 km southwest of Mayo.

Meanwhile, the 2,873-ha fire burning nearly seven kilometres from the Fort Selkirk historic site remains quiet, fire officials said today.

While the fire danger rating is listed as low for all but two of the territory’s 10 fire districts, fire officials noted, with 107 active fire in the Yukon, smoky conditions can continue to be expected.

The Watson Lake district is listed as a high danger rating, with the Whitehorse district having a moderate danger rating.

Hot dry weather forecast to begin Monday in southern Yukon is expected to increase the fire danger.

The 177 fires in the territory so far this season have burned 91,369 ha.

A total of 50 firefighters from Alberta and B.C. are remaining in the territory for the time being.

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