Mayo fire has cost $850,000 so far

By CHRIS WOODS   Star Reporter

MAYO - What's bad for the forest can be good for the pocketbook. And when what's bad for the forest is able to pump more than $100,000 a day into this village of 470, the economy lights on fire.

Residents of the central Yukon village have seen a lot of money pass through their hands since the nearby forest fire was sparked by a bolt of lightning on July 1.

In eight days, the fire has cost the federal government $850,000, said Karel Kauppinen, assistant district clerk for the Deparment of Northern Affairs. She is responsible for keeping the books on the fire in Mayo.

Of course, the bulk of that money, about $76,000 a day, flies out of the area and into the pockets of the helicopter operators.

Including gas, it's costing the federal government about $86,000 a day to fly seven helicopters around the Mayo fire.

That could account for about $688,000 of the $850,000 spent during the first eight days of the fire.

The Yukon firefighters make about $8 an hour, and there are 87 of them working 13-hour days.

And of course, the crew members have to be fed and taken care of in their bush camp. That means a large increase in sales for the area grocer.

Jim and Shann Carmichael own the Mayo Caselot, where most of the groceries are bought.

Since the fire started, they've had to hire extra staff. They've put in a week of 16-hour days, Shann Carmichael said in an interview Wednesday.

The amount of food they bring into the store has doubled, and of course, that means a huge increase in sales.

But this isn't totally out of the ordinary for them. They supply camps of one kind or another all the time, she said. They hope to see something like this every summer.

"From our point of view, they've been absolutely excellent," said Mayo Mayor Don Hutton, also the acting regional management officer for the Northern Affairs fire centre.

The grocers have been able to provide everything needed for the whole operation without leaving the villagers without food on the shelf, said Hutton.

Mayo workers and businesses have been given the first crack at all jobs and business created by the fire.

"Everyone who wanted a job got a job," Hutton said about the 87 emergency firefighting jobs.

All the area Cat skinners are out making the Cat line with their bulldozers, he said.

"I suspect they're making good money because the owners are making good money, and a lot are owner-operators," said Hutton.

He's hoping that a lot of the money spent by the federal government on the fire during the summer will still be stimulating the village economy in the winter.

This isn't the first time Mayo has had to battle a forest fire. But this is the first time, in a long time anyway, that Mayo's fire has had priority and received all the resources it wanted, said Hutton.

The gas station is selling a lot more gas, and every business from the hotel that has become home for the helicopter pilots to the variety store selling cigarettes and magazines, has had a little economic fire set under them.

The fire, meanwhile, hasn't grown since Monday morning because of cool temperatures and rain.

The total area consumed remains at 10,082 hectares.

"If it heats up, we'll probably lose some line," Mike Sparks, the acting duty officer for Northern Affairs in Mayo, said this morning.

The cool weather over the last couple of days has enabled firefighters to create a Cat line around 75 per cent of the fire, said Sparks.

Bulldozers have plowed 45 kilometres of rough road around the fire, with 61 still to go.

The perimeter of the fire is cold today, said Sparks. Without any outbreaks along the fire's edge, the risk of it spreading is reduced.

But, if the weather changes, the fire could start raging again, and if it does, "Hill 38" will be the most likely hot spot, said Sparks.

Hill 38 is at the fire's far northeast end, about 10 kilometres from Mayo. Ground crews are working at Hill 38 today, trying to smother the fires slowly burning there before the weather changes.