The city needs to put a greater effort into FireSmarting the community, says Yukon forestry consultant Dave Loeks.

Loeks told council at its meeting Monday the threat to Whitehorse from wildfires is real – and needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

In his presentation, Loeks noted there is a 55 per cent probability of ignition near the city on an extreme fire weather day within 30 years.

He said thinning out the stands of trees surrounding Whitehorse is necessary, but is not the only safeguard.

There must be a unified approach by residents to FireSmart their properties and homes, he said.

“You need to treat the community.”

Loeks completed a fire risk analysis for the city two years ago.

The effort to carry out FireSmarting in the community is being done in a piecemeal fashion, he told council.

The work being done around the Mary Lake subdivision is good, as the south end of the city is the most vulnerable, Loeks said.

He said there is an 83 per cent probability a wildfire will approach from the south, and the loss of property would be extremely high.

The city, he said, can choose to do nothing and accept the risk that could result in up to $3 billon in losses, like it was with the 2016 wildfire that burned through Fort McMurray, Alta.

Alternatively, it can understand the risk and effectively reduce it by removing the fuel from the surrounding forest and exposed properties, he said.

Loeks said removing the fuel and replacing it with deciduous trees like aspen or widely-spaced pine trees would be the most effective.

Burning embers carried by the wind, he said, pose a significant threat, as they can travel up to three kilometres, though most will drop within 500 metres, he said.

Embers, Loeks noted, have jumped the Yukon River.

Loeks said FireSmarting needs to be done in the first 500 metres of forest to create a buffer and reduce the threat from embers.

Many of the homes destroyed in Fort McMurray were not on the forest edge but well away from it, he pointed out.

The consultant who deals with fire risk management said there should be a focus on FireSmarting around Whitehorse General Hospital.

Right now, he said, there is no credible way to evacuate the hospital.

Loeks said in addition to FireSmarting, the city needs to develop an evacuation plan.

He noted Fort McMurray had four lanes of highway going in two directions. Whitehorse might only have one direction available if the time comes, he said.

Loeks said he believes it’s an understatement to suggest Whitehorse residents are a little uninformed about the threat of wildfires and evacuation.

“We do not have an evacuation plan,” he insisted.

Loeks said the city needs to do more than rely on sending out an emergency alert by cellphones, as not everybody has a cell phone.

Mayor Laura Cabott, however, said the city does have an evacuation plan as part of its emergency measures preparation.

Council will have a lunch-hour meeting Thursday to discuss the city’s emergency measures.

The consultant recommended the city focus on four priorities in the next two or three years:

•Make the hospital and its grounds a safe zone that does not need to be evacuated;

•Focus on and accelerate the installation of wood boilers (to create a market for trees removed – Loeks said fuel management can pay for itself);

•Accelerate the universal FireSmarting of Whitehorse properties; and

•Accelerate and complete a city evacuation plan.