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Department of Community Services
2004 - Yukon Wildfire Bulletins
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Current Fire Danger Ratings Wildfire Bulletin #42 July 12, 2004 - 9:45 AM Fire Activity Increases Sunday Fire activity started to pick up on this weekend throughout parts of the Yukon as warm, dry air began to move into the territory. Several of the larger fires that started last month around Old Crow were very active yesterday, including the Porcupine River fire and Upper Fishing Branch fire. There was an increase in fire activity on Sunday in the Dawson district. A fire by Sixty Mile River was reported in the early evening last night after miners on-site called into Whitehorse to report flames moving down the hill. By the time the helicopters arrived, the flames were two miles from the camp and moving rapidly. Three sprinkler systems were also deployed at the site, in an effort to protect the 10 buildings on site. Two people stayed on site last night to ensure the sprinklers were running and to put in a cat guard around the site perimeter. There was a spot fire outside the boundaries of the contained Rob Roy fire. The mining crews also spotted this fire and gave fire crews time to douse the start. Wildland Fire Management would like to thank the miners for their help in this situation. The four major Goldsfield fires underwent little change over the weekend. The highways were open and traffic had no trouble moving through. The Dempster fire grew to the southeast yesterday but some natural barriers slowed it down. Late last night, however, with weather conditions changing, fire activity picked up again. There was growth on many of the fires, and some fire lines were breeched with spot fires. The active fire trend is expecting to continue with the warm conditions forecast for the Yukon for most of this week.
Advisories Although the current fire ban has been modified for southern Yukon and the far north, Wildland Fire Management would like to remind people that burning fires only applies to commercial and government campgrounds. The forest floor is drier than it appears. Also, smoke from fires out of commercial and government campgrounds is often reported, and consequently fire crews must go out and investigate. Fire officials are also anticipating the weather to warm up once again this week. Travelers are urged to phone the Yukon Road Report for current updates at 867-667-3710 or 1-877-456-7623 before traveling. There is an information center set up at Robert Service School in Dawson for fire information. There is also a fire briefing on Dawson's local channel 11 at 8 p.m., taped in the ancillary room of Robert Service School nightly. This briefing will discuss not only fire but weather issues, emergency measures, fire control and more if applicable. People are also invited to come to the briefing at the Robert Service School. There have been 187 fires in the Yukon burning over 913, 000 hectares of forest. -30- For Yukon Wildfire updates, call 1-800-826-4750 Current Fire Danger Ratings |