High winds help fire burn 5,000 hectares in a single night

By CHRIS WOODS   Star Reporter

The forest fire north of Mayo flew into a rage over the weekend, sweeping north and east and quadrupling the area it's destroyed.

High winds surprised everyone on Friday night, Dick Seaman, regional duty officer with the Northern Affairs fire centre, told a news conference today in Whitehorse.

Many firefighters had gone to bed when the fire broke into a fury. It jumped the Mayo River on its northwest side and blew past a crew trying to create a fireline at the fire's north end, said Seaman.

The crew working the northern fireline were forced back by the fire, leaving about 300 metres of hose behind in the blaze. Invisible to helicopter pilots because of the smoke, they had to hike back to Janet Lake - seven kilometres northeast of Mayo - to be airlifted to safety.

The area destroyed doubled on Friday night as the blaze consumed another 5,000 hectares of forest.

The furious growth of the fire is due to "very extreme conditions," said Seaman.

Temperatures and rain are supposed to be falling soon, making it easier to contain the fire, he added.

There are now close to 200 people, on the ground and overhead, battling the fire. That includes nine bulldozers, seven helicopters, two water bombers and a "bird dog" plane to coordinate the attack on the blaze.

Today, the ground crew was to work with pumps and hoses to contain the northwest end of the fire.

Water bombers and helicopters will be working the southeast side.

The fire hasn't grown a lot in the direction of Mayo. It's still about eight kilometres away, and the "Cat line" established on the south side of the fire has remained firm, standing between Mayo and the blaze.

"If the weather keeps going, they could get a handle on it quite quickly," said Seaman. But he refused to predict when firefighters might actually have the fire under control.

There aren't any houses or institutions facing immediate risk from the fire in its current state, said Seaman.

There haven't been any serious injuries reported among firefighters, said Seaman. It's not common to have a lot of problems with smoke inhalation or severe burns during Yukon forest fires, he added.

This is the only fire burning out of control in the Yukon. There are several other fires, but all are contained and should be out soon, said Seaman.