Fighting the fires of a Yukon summer

By ANDREA BUCKLEY – Yukon News Reporter

Smoky the Bear needs help to prevent forest fires.

Good training, early detection, good weather and sheer luck all play their part, says Keith Kepke, head of Yukon’s fire management team.

"We do have some very general indicators of what might happen but we really can’t predict anything," says Kepke.

"We look at things like, what was the season like last year, what was the precipitation over the winter and what is the moisture deficit?"

Every year can be an exception and every year can be a record, he says.

So far in 1991, 20 fires have been reported. One was recently put out in the Whitehorse area.

"The driest part of the Yukon now is in the south-central area. It’s probably a little drier than normal.

"But it’s normal to have relatively high dry spots during spring breakup."

Lightning causes 50 to 60 per cent of Yukon’s forest fires. The rest are caused by man.

"We do run fire prevention programs, but the reality is, we’re never going to get rid of them (man-caused fires)," he says.

On average, about 150 fires burn about 30,000 hectares of forest each season. Bad years can exceed this level.

"You’ve got to remember that fire up here is perfectly normal. It’s all boreal forest that lives and died on forest fires.

"The thing is, if the fire’s near a community or a water shed, it becomes a higher priority to put it out."

Bulldozers, however, may not be used in remote area and the fire may burn longer. Cats do too much damage to the forest, he says.

"It’s all determined by the hazard. What you utilize is determined by whether or not you have to control that fire.

"If it’s near a community, you use more helicopters, more manpower and we may get the Cats."

The department runs fire prevention programs throughout the territory to help raise public awareness about how they start and how to prevent them.

There is a program for kindergarten to grade 6 students. The department also participates in parades, community days and the trade show.

Brochures are also distributed on home and cabin safety, fire permits and camping safety.

Anna-Maria Salvatori and Lea Hardcastle came all the way from Montreal to be part of this year’s Yukon fire fighter training camp.

The two university students sit at a lunch table with 19 men and two other women in their bright yellow coveralls and work boots.

"It’s exciting – really fun," says Hardcastle. "You get to see a lot of neat things like that."

Salvatori and Hardcastle started fighting fires last summer as extras. This year, they decided to come back to get certified.

They’ve vying with 21 others at the camp for five vacancies on the team. Yet, they’re confident they can keep up with any make on the job.

"We had an endurance test where we had to carry a 60-pound hose for one kilometre," says Salvatori.

"We were average with most of the guys. They’re pretty cool up here."

Camp training includes classes on fire behavior and suppression, safety training, radio communications and aircraft use and safety. Much of the work involves practical training as well.

They admit, however, there is some sexism and chauvinism involved. But when given the chance, Salvatori and Hardcastle feel they can gain any male fire fighters’ respect.

"You get to be the butt of all the jokes but it’s just general camaraderie," says Hardcastle. "The more women that enter the system, the better it gets."

The women would like to get jobs after the training. If not, however, they will at least have certifications, and are confident they can remain employed all summer as extras.

"There’s always steady work," says Salvatori.

Ed Lenchuck was in the same situation fire years ago. He came to the camp and was lucky enough to get a job. Now he’s a crew leader in Haines Junction.

"I kicked around a bit in the renewable resources field, working for fish and wildlife in Alberta, and fisheries up here.

"I thought I’d give this a try just to see another part of the renewable resources sector."

He was stationed in Haines Junction the first year on the job. He liked it ("I didn’t starve or anything", and after two summers there, got a job in Dawson City.

"The first fire wasn’t really scary or anything like that, but I was certainly a little bit nervous," he says.

"You’re thinking about everything you’ve learned at camp and hoping you can apply what you’ve learned to the situation."

Lenchuck now teaches the trainees at the camp what he has learned through his fire fighting experience.

He teaches them how things work on a site, the basic ways of tackling fires and how to recognize what to do in different situations.

"It’s a whole different ball game up in Dawson City than Haines Junction," he says.

In Dawson City, most of the fires are caused by lightning strikes. Haines Junction fires are caused by man.

"It’s not frustrating at all (knowing the fires are caused by humans) because you realize you have a job to do," he says.

"When I was going into it, I was aware that’s the type of fires I’m going to find.

"You try to be as prepared as you can before the fire starts and realize what you may be coming up against before you get there."

And for all his work, he’s got no big scars or other injuries to show he’s battled blazes.

"I got a couple of stitches in my thumb one time," he says with a wide grin.

"I’ve been pretty lucky but we also get good training up here. People are always thinking of safety first."