A ban on all open fires across the southern portion of the territory has been implemented by Yukon Wildland Fire Management officials.

The ban came into effect at 4:30 Thursday afternoon, in conjunction with a ban issued by the City of Whitehorse.

The ban applies to campfires in approved campground fire pits.

It stretches from just north of Carmacks and Faro south to the Yukon-B.C. border.

Environment Canada is forecasting a continuation of unseasonably high temperatures right through the Discovery Day weekend and into next week.

"We are expecting highs in the mid-20s to pushing 30,” federal meteorologist Doug Lundquist told the Star this morning.

He said the highs for this time of year are normally around 19 C, but this weekend could be record-setting if some of the communities hit the 29 C mark, as expected.

Whitehorse, for instance, was expected to hit 23 today, rise to 25 Saturday and climb to 29 by Sunday.

The capital's temperatures will then remain in the mid-20s Monday and Tuesday before falling back down to more seasonal temperatures by Wednesday, according to the long-range forecast.

Lundquist said a cold front is expected to arrive over the territory by the middle of next week.

For now, however, the typical summertime high pressure system over the Pacific Ocean is stronger than usual, and is pushing warm air further north.

What we are seeing over the Yukon now is more of what one would expect to see over southern B.C., he said.

"It is quite unusual,” Lundquist added. "We might see some records.”

The Kluane National Park and Reserve issued a fire ban on Wednesday, as the fire hazard in the Haines Junction region is extreme. It is also extreme in Watson Lake and Ross River, high in Whitehorse and low across the rest of the territory.

George Maratos, Wildland Fire Management's information officer, said this morning he travelled to Watson Lake on Thursday to assist information flow should conditions worsen, with the forest fire burning south of the Yukon-B.C. border along the Stewart-Cassiar Highway.

Junction 37 at the Alaska Highway and Upper Liard remain on evacuation notice. That means they should consider what to bring if they have to flee the flames on short notice.

B.C. is trying to open the artery every day between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. to allow traffic through guided by a pilot car.

"We fly it every morning to see how good it is for highway travel,” Tim Neal, a B.C. fire information officer, said this morning.

He said the highway was open this morning, but emphasized there are no guarantees from one day to the next.

A roster of 20 firefighters from the Yukon are helping fight the blaze.

All of the 42 active forest fires in the Yukon are not being fought, as they are burning in wilderness zone.