A fire Monday at the Watson Lake Secondary School has cancelled classes today and tomorrow, but students should be back to the routine Thursday minus their food concession area.

School superintendent Dave Sloan said today the Department of Education was to announce this afternoon the intention to have the 110 high school and a handful of Yukon College students return to classes Thursday.

He said the fire started in the concession area at about 11:30 a.m. while high school students were in class.

It was reported to the school principal by a college student working nearby. The school was evacuated without incident, Sloan said.

Department spokeswoman Clea Roberts said the Watson Lake fire chief has indicated the cause is electrical in nature, but has ruled out any connection to the use of electrical appliances by students earlier in the morning.

Marty Dobbin, the Yukon fire marshall, said the Watson Lake fire chief indicated to him the fire started in the area where cardboard boxes were stored next to the pop machine.

The fire chief confirmed the cause of the fire was the boxes though it remains difficult to determine if there was a problem with the electrical outlet or electrical cord, of if the boxes just overhearted being so close to the machine, Dobbin said.

Sloan said the extent of damage has not been finalized. However, information and pictures he's received suggest the fire was confined to the concession area, and did involve flames and scorching.

There is also water and smoke damage, though the sprinklers operate on a zone system, so they were activated only in the immediate area of the fire, he pointed out.

Sloan said the smell of smoke has already been removed by large fans placed in the school by property management personnel. Property management staff, however, are waiting for the completion of the fire investigation before they can clean up the area and begin repairs.

Until repairs are made, Sloan noted, the concession and the adjacent multi-use room will be sealed off.

He explained the school's student council will be taking a hit, as the council owns the appliances in the concession area, the microwaves, toasters, and boom box.

The concession was operated as a student business to supply juice, snacks and healthy nutrition alternatives, like toasted bagels.

Money raised in the concession was funnelled through the student council back to the student body.

'It is going to be a loss to the student council,' Sloan said.

He said there were plans to look for an alternative school site, had there been a need to close the school for much more than a couple of days.

The Liard First Nation, Sloan pointed out, contacted the department almost immediately and offered the use of its recently-purchased Watson Lake Hotel as a temporary school location if need be.

'It is good to know there is that kind of community support.'