Yukon Wildland Fire Management recorded 17 new wildfires Wednesday evening across central and southern Yukon.

The culprit for the blazes was lightning activity that struck 3,836 times over the course of the day, an update stated.

“In the last three days, a total of 33 new lightning-caused fires have been identified.

“In the Lake Laberge area, lightning struck 500 metres from a Fox Creek residence. The subsequent 0.1-hectare fire was successfully contained by an initial-attack crew with helicopter bucketing support.”

The Dawson City district saw nine new ignitions in conditions of moderate to high fire danger. Of these, suppression action took place at the following fires while the remainder were assessed:

• Bell Creek (DA-018, 15 hectares, out of control): an air-tanker group worked this fire Wednesday evening to slow its spread.

• Bonanza Creek Road (DA-019, 0.1 hectares, under control): an initial-attack crew, supported by a helicopter with a water bucket, contained the fire.

• Dominion Creek (DA-020, 0.3 hectares, out of control): an air-tanker group dropped retardant along the fire front to slow its spread.

• East of Dempster Corner (DA-023, 0.6 hectares, out of control): an initial-attack crew, supported by two helicopters with water buckets, held the fire 12 kilometres east of the Dempster Highway junction with the North Klondike Highway.

In Carmacks, crews continue to develop and implement structure protection plans for sites near the 725-hectare Ta’tla Mun Lake and 1,590-hectare Bear Feed Creek fires.

“During hot conditions, highway users may see these fires from the North Klondike and Robert Campbell Highways, respectively, but neither road is currently threatened,” Wildland Fire Management said.

This week’s forecast calls for scattered showers and thundershowers across central and southern Yukon.