Crews from Yukon Wildland Fire Management are continuing to assist property owners with flood protection, government spokeswoman Echo Ross said today.

“Right now, they are currently working on 140 homes,” she said.

Anyone needing sandbags can pick them up at one of the seven sandbagging stations listed below, she said.

Property owners can also ask for assistance filling the bags and even placing them, she said.

Ross noted there are 50 firefighters from Wildland Fire Management assisting with flood protection.

No one has been advised to evacuate a property.

The government has already sent out 50,000 sandbags and another 150,000 have been ordered, some of which are currently coming up the Alaska Highway, she said. The artery reopened Thursday morning after a wildfire in the Fort Nelson, B.C. area had closed it.

The following is a summary of the flood situation issued this morning by the Emergency Measures Centre.

Currently, there are six active warnings or advisories in effect:

• A flood warning for the Yukon River at Carmacks;

• A flood warning for Southern Lakes;

• A flood watch for Lake Laberge (issued Thursday);

• A flood watch for Teslin Lake; and

• A flood watch for Kusawa Lake and Takhini River.

A boil water advisory has been issued for residents of Carmacks who are on well systems

Bennett Lake, Tagish Lake, and Marsh Lake are currently at the second-highest level on record and rising. The rate of rise has started to decline, as all lakes rose fewer than 10 centimetres in the past 24 hours. But still, the Southern Lakes are likely to exceed 2007 flood levels by early next week.

Recent precipitation and well above-normal temperatures over the past week have increased inflow to the Southern Lakes to record-breaking volumes.

Currently, above-normal temperatures and no significant precipitation are forecast for the next week.

It’s currently estimated that Marsh Lake may reach from 657.37 to 657.7 metres above sea level in two weeks.

The projected late summer peak water level ranges from 657.48 to 658.02 metres. The peak level on Marsh Lake in 2007 was 657.34 metres.

Peaks will be similar on Tagish and Bennet Lakes.

The current water level on Lake Laberge rose approximately 10 centimetres in the past 24 hours and is above the level expected to occur an average of every 10 years.

The current water level is historically high for this time of year as Lake Laberge typically peaks in late summer.

Water levels are likely to remain elevated for some time.

The current water level is 626.92 metres above sea level. The peak water level in 2007 was 627.28 meters above sea level.

Continued above-seasonal temperatures are forecast for the next seven days and will keep rates of melt of the remaining snowpack high.

The incident management team continues to assess properties in the Southern Lakes area, prioritizing response based on those at immediate risk.

Crews are building berms in priority areas, maintaining sand dumps, and assessing public access areas.

Heavy equipment is deploying super-bags along South M’Clintock Road.

The team is also putting protections in place on Lake Laberge-area homes.

More sandbags and related supplies are being delivered to the designed stations today.

There are now seven sandbagging stations available to residents, including one added at Jackfish Bay in Lake Laberge.

The others are at South M’Clintock Road, Tagish Campground, Marsh Lake Community Centre, the Inn on the Lake boat launch, the Tagish Cemetery, and near the Carcross airport.

Concerned property owners can contact the public information officer at 332-7084 or at flooding@yukon.ca.

The Yukon River in Carmacks remains under flood warning as water levels remain stable.

Due to the rain in the Southern Lakes region recently, they are unlikely to drop further at the moment, but are not expected to rise much more either.

River Drive flood barriers are being monitored. Fifteen properties in River Drive and Lower Bench are being monitored for impact.

Water quality testing is ongoing for business and residential properties.

Affected property owners in Carmacks can contact incident commander Ryan Nixon at 863-2408.

The Teslin situation is stable. The water levels at Teslin Lake have plateaued and have started to recede.

The water resources branch downgraded the flood watch to a high water advisory on Wednesday afternoon.

EMO is supporting the Village of Teslin and the Teslin Tlingit Council in their response to the affected areas.

Four thousand sandbags are currently in use, 2,000 more that were stockpiled are now being sent to Southern Lakes, and a further 5,000 empty bags are available on standby.

Meanwhile, Wildland Fire Management is reminding Yukoners that extreme fire danger this weekend requires extra caution when using fire.

As of Wednesday, there were 13 active fires burning across Yukon.