181 As wildfires continue to engulf parts of the state, Yukon now exceeds three times the number of active fires a year, according to fire officials.
According to a July 12 report by the Yukon Durland Fire Authority, the state has experienced 242 fires in 2022, four times the average over the past decade.
That is 60 times a year, compared to the average fire in the last 10 years.
Last year, the state saw a total of 43 fires, which means more than five fires this year.
Compared to last year, more than four times as much land has been burnt, so far in 13022, 130,024 hectares and 31,424 hectares in 2021.
Firefighters from British Columbia have been called in to help Yukon Wildeland firefighters respond to a request from the Canada Agency’s Forest Fire Center.
A.D. In a July 10 announcement by the Yukon Wildeland Fire Department, a tent camp equipped with kitchen utensils, warehouses and offices at the Peli Crossing was set up to house a total of 165 firefighters and support staff. According to the announcement, most of the workers living there will be able to cope with the fires that have affected the highway in the area.
Yukon has 25 first-team attacking teams and 18 first-team attackers from BC. According to the latest figures from the Yukon Durland Fire Department, they are working to stop the spread of fire. Five BC 20 crew members and one Yukon First Nations wildfire crew, four air tanker teams, 36 helicopters and the BC event management team are working to prevent the fire.
Haley Richie, head of the Yukon Durland Fire Department, explained that two workers on a relatively small hectare of land on the front line of the two boot fires were dumped by helicopter in the southeast of Mayo. And he smoked on the weekends.
Workers identified the area of the fire for hours, looking for hot spots such as heat and smoke and using hand tools to ensure the fire was not extinguished and spread again if it was dry.
Other workers in other regions have pump systems in addition to hand tools to deal with fires.
“Rain has reduced a lot of fire activity, but our staff is still working and doing their job and controlling things,” Richie said.
The July 9 Fire Camp, set up near the Peli Crossing, will house about 150 firefighters and support staff. (Respectfully / Yukon Durland Fire Administration)
Richie said the weather had a “huge impact” on the fire situation.
“That was very dry, very hot, very stormy and the weather was bad last week,” she said.
“We now have a low pressure system that produces a lot of rain, which really helps control fire activity – it gives us time to maintain that and control and control many fires.”
With the exception of some areas, such as Whitehouses, moderate to extreme temperatures, recent rains have reduced the risk of fires in most areas.
Despite a general fire hazard on the board, Richie warned that it would take a lot of rain to extinguish the fire.
“We are not out of the woods yet,” she said.
A evacuation warning is in place for the Stuart Crossing.
On the afternoon of July 12, Silver Road and its environs, Mayo, Keno, Elsa, Moose Creek Lodge and Victoria Gold Mining are not under notice.
The Canadian Red Cross received enrollment in emergency social services on July 8. Information for Kara Yoshansik, information officer at Yukon Health Emergency Operations Center on July 12, said help to release the Canadian Red Cross can be reached at 1-800-863-6582.
Richie said the BBC’s event management team took the fight with two active but not rapidly growing fires in Crystal Creek. Their goal is to protect the travel corridor on the North Clonic Highway. The July 11 opening between the Pelly Crossing and the Stuart Crossing was closed for a week due to fire and smoke.
Ritchi said workers are working to “increase this” to prevent the highway from closing because the heat of the fire could be stuck for a long time.
The event management team meeting will be held on July 10 at the Crystal Creek Fire Complex. (Respectfully / Yukon Durland Fire Administration)
Richie is urging residents and visitors to beware of highway crews as a construction site.
Find Dana Hatterly on dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
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