A Dawson-area mom and her two toddlers were removed from their mining claim after she called fire officials when their road out was cut off by fire.

Duty officer Mike Sparks of the Yukon's Wildland Fire Management branch said today the mother contacted the Dawson fire centre to request an airlift out for her and her two- and four-year-old children.

'It was more of a precautionary measure,' Sparks told reporters during an extensive briefing this morning about what is being described as explosive potential for problem fires.

There are currently 111 active fires in the Yukon, burning an estimated 230,000 hectares. On average, fire officials are picking up 10 to 12 new starts a day from a steady charge of lightning across the territory.

Over the last 48 hours, for instance, there were 1,000 strikes south of Whitehorse within 110 kilometres of the capital.

A large number of fires burning in the Dawson area is creating visibility problems, as it is in Whitehorse and several communities across the territory, Sparks said.

He said two helicopters were sent to the mining claim to extract the family, while other firefighters have done some structural protection work on other claims in the Dawson-area gold fields.

The Alaska Highway has been re-opened but is still subject to closure on short notice, according to the Yukon government's most recent highway information at noon today.

Two fires burning just south of the Yukon-B.C. border closed down the highway yesterday after forcing the early-morning evacuation of 19 residents from the small Yukon highway communities of Contact Creek and Iron Creek.

The highway is again open, though motorists are currently being guided by pilot cars through the 127-kilometre stretch between Contact Creek and Fireside.

Pilot cars are moving in both directions simultaneously.

Fire management officials, Community Services and Highways Minister Glenn Hart and representatives from several other government departments were on hand this morning to explain what Hart called a territory under siege by wildfires, and the explosive potential for more.

Officials emphasized the importance of public vigilance, as the long weekend approaches, to prevent any human caused fires that would only add to an already delicate situation.

The first lightning began touching off fires on June 18 and 19, and new starts have accumulated everyday as the weather conditions continue to be hot and dry, with no real end in sight for at least 10 days, Ken Colbert, head of fire management, said this morning.

'Since that time, a stationary high over the Yukon has resulted in high temperatures and a lot of lightning,' he said. 'We are almost at the point where we have extreme fire indicators almost through the Yukon.'

Sparks said while the heavy overcast of smoke is acting like a suppression in itself by blocking the sun and reducing daytime heating. It's also hampering some air attack operations because bombers are not able to fly due to poor visibility.

Fire managers expressed satisfaction this morning for the efforts of the territory's firefighting staff and other departments providing support for the tender situation.

And with additional firefighting personnel arriving from Ontario and other resources from elsewhere, there is a plan afoot to take strategic action on certain fires to try to change their direction or reduce the potential threat, they explained.

With the additional resources available, Colbert explained, management staff were to begin meeting this morning to decide where to deploy the resources, and to make use of them, rather than have them remain idle on standby.

The daily cost of supporting the territory's firefighting efforts has escalated from $75,000 to $80,000 early last week to almost $200,000 a day, Dan Boyd, head of protective services, estimated this morning.

But Colbert said because the extra resources are already being paid for, taking additional strategic action on certain fires is not going to increase the cost much.

Boyd estimated the territory has already spent $4.5 million of its annual $6.5-million budget for actual suppression work.

The Swan Lake fire burning just south of the Yukon-B.C. border is keeping the community of 50 Swift River residents on evacuation alert, though the highway remains open.

The North Canol Road, however, is closed some 75 kilometres north of Ross River, though the Robert Campbell Highway was re-opened last night, and the Nahanni Range Road was also re-opened this morning.

Travellers wishing updates on highway conditions can call 667-3701.