A threat from a nearby forest fire forced the removal of a small community south of Atlin, B.C., early Wednesday afternoon, though residents returned later in the day.

Atlin RCMP Const. Kevin Flood said today he and another officer, members of the Atlin fire department and ambulance service went door-to-door to ensure residents of the Five Mile Reserve were aware of the threat and the need to evacuate.

The evacuation was calm and orderly, Flood said.

The Taku River Tlingit First Nation had already been on the phone with area residents to inform them of the danger.

Residents, however, were permitted to return just a few hours later at 5 p.m., once crews had knocked down the blaze and stopped its advance.

Brian Atherton, a fire control officer out of Smithers, said today there is no reason to believe the Atlin firefighters and two Yukon crews won't continue to be successful in their efforts to hold the blaze at an estimated 10 hectares.

A four-engine Lockheed Electra air tanker, the largest in the B.C. fleet with the same 11,365-litre capacity as a DC-6 retardant bomber, was dispatched from Prince George. However, it returned after dropping one load, Atherton explained.

He said an initial attack crew of three firefighters and a helicopter were dispatched from Whitehorse, along with a initial attack crew of three who drove down from from Teslin. Both remained on the fire this morning.

They're expected to return to their respective bases later today, once the team of 20 B.C. firefighters arrives on the scene, expected to be some time around 4:30 p.m. today.

Atherton said with Atlin personnel busy at the scene, he's not been able to talk to anybody about a definitive cause of the fire.

It's been suggested, however, that the fire was a holdover from last year's construction of a fire break when brush was piled and burned, Atherton said.

Meanwhile, territorial fire officials are continuing to caution Yukoners about the tinderbox forest conditions North of 60.

All burning has been banned in the Whitehorse district.

And while the fire hazard fell this morning to moderate from the volatile extreme rating of yesterday, it could climb right back up as quickly as it came down, Paula Webber of the Wildland Fire Management branch said this morning.

She said one new fire was reported in the Dawson district and firefighters were on the scene today.

The cause is also believed to be a holdover from last year's Haystack blaze, which was part of the complex of fires that ravaged the gold fields.

The 2004 fire season was the worst on record, with 1.8 million hectares burned and $21 million spent directly on firefighting activities.