Yukon’s wildfire season turbulent

Wildfire services spent the weekend battling new fires as 78 active blazes were recorded in the territory on Tuesday, mostly in the Dawson and Mayo districts.

The last 10 days have been quite eventful due to high levels of lightning across most of the Yukon.explains Mike Fancie, information officer with the Wildland Fire Management Section.

The teams on the ground had to call for reinforcements. We have 12 BC wildland fire crews available to assist us.he said.

The extent of the fires and the evacuation alerts make their task difficult.

Evacuation alerts

The community of Mayo, located about 400 kilometres north of Whitehorse, and Stewart Crossing have been on evacuation alert since Saturday evening due to the Roaring Fork wildfire.

The weather appears to be improving in the coming days, and the North Klondike Highway has been able to reopen.

There has been some rain, it is more humid and our teams are able to work more directly on the fires. The fire is burning less severely and it is less dangerous for us, for our teams.adds the agent.

However, he cautions that wind could hamper their efforts and that the communities of Mayo and Stewart Crossing must remain prepared for evacuation.

The new standard

The forecasts had predicted a summer closer to seasonal norms, but lightning, responsible for most of the fires, is a difficult phenomenon to predict.

In a normal year we have between 100 and 200 fires in the Yukon.says Mike Fancie.

A season that starts with 78 fires therefore promises to be intense, just like the last two years. The question of what is normal or notasks the Yukon Fire Information Officer.