Current Fire Danger Ratings
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2003 Bulletin Archive

Wildfire Bulletin #15

June 16, 2003 - 11:00 AM

NO CAMPFIRE STARTS REPORTED OVER THE WEEKEND

WHITEHORSE -Considering the large amount of high school graduates and festival-goers expected to have been camping throughout the territory over the weekend, Wildland Fire Management personnel were pleased to report only two small fires over the weekend.

"From a fire standpoint it was a relatively quiet weekend," said Duty Officer Al Beaver. "Aside from a few abandoned campfires we discovered and the incident in Whitehorse, overall we were pleased with the public's behavior."

Both fires were discovered on Sunday afternoon in the Dawson City and Whitehorse fire districts. The human-caused Whitehorse fire, 0.02 hectares in size, was discovered burning near F.H Collins and was quickly extinguished by a three-person initial attack crew. In Dawson, for the first time this season, lightning was the cause of a fire approximately 2 hectares in size. That fire is still burning and is located in a remote wilderness zone. Officials will now closely monitor the fire, however at this time no resources are on the fire.

"When we get fires burning in remote wilderness zones it is common practice to put them under surveillance," said Beaver. "Fire management strategies are developed in consideration of threats to human life, property and resource values as well as the fire benefits."

With the weekend activity the fire total in the Yukon is now at 31. As a result approximately 1750 hectares of forest have burned. With the on-going warm and dry conditions the fire hazard remains extreme in some areas and therefore officials are urging the public to be safe when conducting any kind of burning.

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Current Fire Danger Ratings
Burning Restrictions
2003 Bulletin Archive