Structure protection being set up in around Dawson City, Yukon, as fires grow
Structure protection equipment is being set up in case it's needed to protect homes from wildfires flanking Dawson City, a Yukon wildfire information officer says.
Three evacuation alerts are in place in the territory Sunday morning, two of which are for the Dawson area.
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One is for areas around the Dempster Highway cutoff and Henderson Corner, including properties along the North Klondike Highway between kilometres 693 and 673, which are being threatened by the Mount Leotta fire. The other is for West Dawson and all properties along the Top of the World Highway between kilometres 1 and 36 as well, which are being threatened by the Quebec Creek fire.
Near Mayo, an alert is also in place for the Silver Trail Highway, including the area east of the Silver Trail between kilometres 8 and 24. It comes in response to the North Ferry Hill fire.
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Residents under an evacuation alert are advised to make a plan with family members, gather essential items and have a "grab-and-go" bag ready, make plans for pets or livestock, and arrange transport in case of an evacuation.
Haley Ritchie, a wildfire information officer for the territory, told CBC News Sunday morning that structure protection equipment was set up for properties closest to the Mount Leotta fire, and the same was being done for West Dawson.
"We want to make sure we have that equipment there ready to go when it's needed," she said.
The Quebec Creek fire was last estimated to span 15 square kilometres, while the Mount Leotta fire was nine square kilometres. Ritchie said both fires have since grown, but updated numbers were needed.
As of Sunday morning, 63 fires are burning in the Yukon. Ritchie said most of the 17 new fires that started in the territory Saturday were caused by lightning strikes.
Residents uncertain where they'd go if evac order declared
Anna Radzimirska, who lives around Henderson Corner, said her family just got back to Dawson from a trip so her suitcases are still packed and ready to go if an evacuation order is issued.
"It's not the first time we've been in this situation," she said. "It is a little bit scary but we've been lucky so far and I'm hoping that continues."
Anna Radzimirska lives in Henderson Corner, an area near Dawson City that's been under an evacuation alert since Friday. 'It is a little bit scary but we've been lucky so far and I'm hoping that continues.' (Chris MacIntyre/CBC)
Her worry isn't whether she has to leave but rather, where she and her family would go.
Another Henderson resident, Julie Dugrenier, said if she has to leave her house she does have a place she can stay in the nearby subdivision of Rock Creek – but it is only temporary. She said if the fires spread and she was forced to evacuate that location she would have nowhere to go.
"It's a little stressful for locals," she said. "The campground is just about full with tourists and they'll have no place to go. If we do have an evacuation it's going to be nuts."
A shot of the wildfire burning near West Dawson on Friday evening. (Laura-Lee Fried)
Jesse Cooke lives in West Dawson with his family. He said the tightly-knit community is keeping in constant contact with each other.
He said he's not worrying too much, but his children are a large part of why he's remaining calm.
"We're just playing it cool," Cooke told CBC News. "We were packing up some bags last night, just getting some essentials. Packing some clothes and some personal items and stuff like that just to have it ready."
West Dawson resident Jesse Cooke said his family is packed and ready to go in the event an evacuation order is issued for his area. (Chris MacIntyre/CBC)
Cooke said he has a place to stay in town if forced to evacuate his home but also said if the entire town were under an evacuation order he wouldn't know where to go.
"We keep our fuel topped up in our vehicles and I assume if we had to leave Dawson, so would everybody else so at that point we're talking about a larger scale emergency and [we'd] probably just wait for instructions from the authorities," Cooke said. "I guess Whitehorse would be a likely spot but yeah I'm not too sure."
The two roads going in and out of Dawson City have been experiencing intermittent closures as a result of the wildfires.
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Yukon Highways and Public Works says on Facebook that the Top of the World Highway is open with a travel advisory. A A digital sign in the town, however, said around noon Sunday that its closed but vehicles are being shuttled through by a pilot car.
Yukon Highways and Public Works also said in a post on Facebook around 11:30 a.m. that piloted vehicle shuttles were happening while conditions allowed for it on the North Klondike Highway between Henderson Corner and the Tintina Trench lookout.
As of Sunday morning, the only two roads going in and out of Dawson City were closed. The Top of the World Highway has been closed intermittently due to fire activity near the road while a section of the North Klondike Highway between Henderson Corner and the Tintina Trench lookout at kilometre 655, was closed to support wild fire operations.
No timeline has been given as to when the North Klondike Highway will re-open.
Dawson's Emergency Control Group
Paul Robitaille, a spokesperson for Dawson's emergency control group that was activated on Friday, said that people need to remain calm but vigilant. The group includes representatives from the municipality, the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation, and Yukon Government.
"We're feeling pretty calm at the emergency control group table because we know we've got a lot of resources that are working on this," he said. "Wildland [Fire Management] is mobilizing resources throughout the territory to help with this."
Robitaille is urging tourists in RVs to stop crossing the river on the George Black ferry any time the Top of the World Highway is closed. The ferry connects West Dawson to the rest of Dawson City.
"The priority of the ferry is to make sure that resources that are fighting the fire can get across," he said. "One RV can take up almost the whole ferry and so it would just put more burden on getting back across if they had to in the event of an evacuation order."
A long line of vehicles, including many RVs, waiting to cross over the Yukon river in Dawson City, Yukon. (Chris MacIntyre/CBC)
Robitaille said in the event the evacuation alert turns into an evacuation order the Robert Service School may be used as a shelter for those without alternative places to go.
"The school has been requisitioned by Emergency Social Services (ESS) to use in the event an order is put in place," Robitaille said. "That would be run by ESS and the Red Cross once that order is put in place."
Robitaille said regular updates will be provided through the municipality, and online on the Yukon government's website and 511 Yukon.
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This article, written by Chris MacIntyre, was originally published for CBC News