Three new fires reported in the Whitehorse district Thursday are particularly disturbing because they were human-caused, says a spokesman for Wildland Fire Management.

George Maratos said this morning two of the small blazes, one on the east shore of Lake Laberge, and another just off the Takhini Hot Springs Road, were started by campfires which were not properly extinguished.

Both were put out quickly by initial attack crews.

Maratos said campers and hikers must take extra care during these hot and dry conditions to make sure their campfires have been extinguished before they leave.

The third fire, he said, was an abandoned car which had been set ablaze at Jack Fish Bay on Lake Laberge.

That fire is under investigation.

"These incidents are extremely disconcerting considering the current conditions across the territory," said Yukon duty officer Mike Sparks.

"It is tinder-dry and we are getting increased lightning activity, therefore we don't want to have to respond to preventable human-caused fires."

The Yukon received 25 firefighters and an additional DC-6 retardant bomber from B.C. earlier this week to assist the territory's firefighting resources in case the situation worsens.

Senior fire specialists from Alberta have also been brought in to help should it be required.

Maratos said the weather forecast for the weekend calls for continuing hot and dry conditions accompanied by more thunder and lightning activity.

In the last 24 hours, he said, there have been 4,980 lightning strikes across the territory.

The Quiet Lake area received the most activity with 628 strikes within a 110-kilometre radius, while the Faro area received 352 in the same radius and 236 around Carmacks.

Aerial detection aircraft will be flying today to try to spot new fires while concentrating on the areas hit hardest by lightning, Maratos explained.

He said when the smoke from forest fires is as heavy as it has been in the last couple of days, there is more reliance on fire detection from the air because the hazy conditions make it more difficult for staff in fire towers to spot new fires.

A new forest fire 105 kilometres south of Dawson City was detected late Thursday morning by satellite, and estimated at 250 hectares. A private aircraft also reported a new 10-hectare fire 51 kilometres southwest of Carmacks.

Both fires were started by lightning, and both are burning in the wilderness zone with no valuables threatened.

The 1,567-hectare fire burning in the wilderness zone 65 kilometres northeast of Whitehorse that has been sending smoke over Whitehorse for the last couple of days is less active today than it has been because of the rain.

The rain has dampened conditions right across the territory, with all districts reporting a low fire danger ratings, with the exception of Dawson, where the threat is moderate.

Maratos pointed out, however, that even with the rain, conditions are still relatively dry and susceptible.

It's expected there will be some new fires detected over the weekend as a result of the recent lightning, he said.