The ban on open fires in the territory has been lifted following sustained rainfall and favourable weather conditions, Yukon Wildland Fire Management announced Tuesday.

The ban was imposed last week under hazardous fire conditions in the Whitehorse, Teslin, Haines Junction, Ross River and Watson Lake regions.

“Last week’s fire ban was enacted to limit the risk of human-caused fires during a period of extremely hot and dry conditions and high operational wildfire requirements,” Wildland Fire director Damien Burns noted in a press release.

“We appreciate Yukoners’ respect for the fire ban as we work to ensure the safety of our communities during this early start to the fire season.”

Burn permits are still required.

There remain eight active fires in the Yukon, though most are being monitored as they are burning in wilderness observation zones.

The fire hazard across the Yukon is low, with the exception of the Ross River region, where it remains high, and in Dawson City, where it’s moderate.

Eighty firefighters from the Yukon and Ontario are making headway on the 652-hectare Bear Creek fire north of Haines Junction.

“The fire has not seen any significant movement, and we continue to plug away at it with the goal of containment,” fire information officer Mike Fancie said this morning.

“Seventy per cent of the perimeter has been contained.”

Evacuation alerts for two properties south of the Bear Creek fire have been cancelled.

Fancie said crews from the Yukon and two from B.C. are still providing structural protection on the Toobally Lakes fire 140 kilometres east of Watson Lake, which was last measured at 12,935 hectares.

That blaze is well inside the observation zone, though there are structures requiring protection, he explained.