The investigation is continuing into the cause of a fire Saturday that destroyed a building along McIntyre Creek where chinook salmon fry were being reared.

Acting platoon chief Jorgen Ponsioen of the Whitehorse Fire Department said today firefighters were alerted to the fire at 2:20 p.m.

They were at the site off Mountainview Drive three minutes later.

The one building straddling the creek was fully involved when they arrived, he told the Star.

Ponsioen said firefighters concentrated on containing the blaze so it didn’t spread to the other four nearby buildings or get into the trees.

The Ibex Valley Volunteer Fire Department was asked to assist by providing a water tanker because of the location.

Ponsioen said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The RCMP also responded. They closed off Mountainview for the 2 1/2 hours or so that firefighters were at the scene.

The acting platoon chief said it is difficult to put a damage estimate on the fire since it involved chinook fry being raised to assist with a valuable salmon stocking program.

The program is overseen by Yukon College with the support of First Nations.

As the college is closed for Easter Monday, staff could not be reached this morning to discuss the fire and its impact on the stocking program.

It’s uncertain if all the chinook fry were being kept in the one building.