Between 40 and 50 Minto Mine workers are leaving the site as part of the precautionary measures being taken in case a nearby forest fire poses a threat.

While conditions remain hot in the Carmacks region, however, the fire danger rating in Whitehorse and throughout half the Yukon has dropped to low, prompting the Whitehorse Fire Department to lift its restriction on open fires.

Stephen Quin, president of Capstone Mining, told the Star this morning that flying out some workers now will lessen the burden should a complete evacuation of all 150 at the mine site suddenly be required.

Most of those being flown out are employed by Pelly Construction, the Whitehorse company contracted to do the mining in the open pit.

Quin said with just under a million tonnes of ore already stockpiled, it's not essential to keep the Pelly crew going to maintain production in the mill.

There are also four of five employees with pre-existing respiratory conditions who are being flown out to avoid problems should smoke from the fire become an issue, he explained.

Quin said a sprinkler system is being established around the main camp and the nearby exploration camp. A 50-metre fire break is being created around the exploration camp as an added precaution because the camp is constructed out of plywood, he said.

Quin said the company wasn't planning to begin barging concentrate across the Yukon River to Minto Landing until the beginning of next week, in any case.

Fire information officer George Maratos said the Minto blaze grew to 3,400 hectares Thursday, and is still about 7.5 km from the mine site. The fire danger rating remains extreme in the Carmacks district, which will likely mean fairly active fire behaviour today, he said.

Maratos said the forecast for the weekend, however, is for cooler temperatures across the Yukon and about six millimetres of rain over the Minto area on Sunday, Maratos said.

"We have not seen any precipitation yet (at Minto) and the temperatures are a little cooler but not enough to bring down the fire danger rating so it looks like another busy day.”

Maratos said the Minto fire has jumped the Yukon River on five occasions but the First Nation crew out of Pelly Crossing has been able to knock out the spot fires before they could get a hold.

Though it was initially believed the Minto fire was caused by a tree being blown onto electrical line which provides power to the mine, a definitive cause remains unknown, he said.

He said there is a fire investigator at the site.

There are 19 active fires in the Yukon, the largest at 20,500 hectares burning in the wilderness zone south of Dawson City near the confluence of the White and Yukon rivers. Another large fire at 15,100 hectares is burning in the wilderness zone north of Dawson.

Maratos said both fires are being monitored closely because of their size.

A 250-hectare fire is burning in the wilderness zone east of Beaver Creek but is about eight kilometres from the Wellesley Lake lodge, Maratos pointed out. He said a crew of three firefighters has been sent to the lodge to install a sprinkler protection system.

Crews have contained a five-hectare fire burning 18 kilometres east of Pelly Crossing, a one-hectare blaze 18 kilometres northwest of Pelly and a one-hectare fire 28 kilometres east of Carmacks, he said.

There have been 35 fires to date, burning more than 55,000 hectares, compared to a total of 11 fires burning 3,700 hectares at this time last year.

Most of the fires have been caused by lightning.

The fire danger rating has also dropped to low in the regions around Beaver Creek, Watson Lake, Teslin, and Ross River. It remains extreme in the Carmacks and Dawson regions, high in Mayo and moderate around Old Crow and Haines Junction.

The Yukon government has lifted the prohibition on open fires in the regions of Whitehorse, Watson Lake, Teslin and Ross River.

Maratos, however, emphasized caution must remain an utmost priority during this season of high school graduations and bush parties.