Forest fire season uncertain

Though it’s been "fairly quiet" for forest fires so far this year, federal forest officials are nervously eyeing what could be a hot, dry summer ahead.

Fire management head Keith Kepke says there have been only a few fires to date in the territory – all in the Whitehorse area. "Most of them have been small campfires that have been left or brush fires."

It’s not unusual for the forest fire season to begin near Whitehorse since the area dries out faster than the rest of the territory, he said.

"We don’t know how the fire season will be – it depends in the weather – but the potential concerns us," Kepke said.

"I’m concerned this year. It’s dry and we’ve had some bad years in Whitehorse before. People don’t know how bad it can get."

Kepke used Faro as an example. In 1969, an eight kilometre fire took out the town in just three hours. "There won’t be a week’s notice here for people to get out," he said grimly.

Forest fires depend on many things – weather, winds, lightening strikes and, of course, human carelessness.

Last year was a below-normal year, Kepke said, at least in the southern Yukon, with fewer fires and of less severity than average. However, north of the Ogilvie Mountains, some 88,000 hectares burned.

"It’s a fair chunk of land bur it reflects where summer was," Kepke said. Cooler, damper weather prevailed in southern Yukon last year.