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Majority of Yukon now under fire ban due to extreme fire danger

Yukon Wildland Fire Management officials implemented the ban the afternoon of July 8.
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The majority of the Yukon is now under a fire ban. (Yukon Protective Services Facebook)

The majority of the Yukon is now under a fire ban due to extreme fire danger levels across the territory.

Yukon Wildland Fire Management made the announcement in a bulletin the afternoon of July 8.

The ban is in effect in the fire management areas of Dawson, Mayo, Carmacks, Ross River, Whitehorse, Teslin, Haines Junction and Beaver Creek, and applies to all open fires, including at campgrounds.

The ban also extends to the use of fireworks and burning in any landfill or dump site in the Yukon.

“Officials will be monitoring campgrounds, landfills and dumps to ensure the ban is being respected,” the bulletin says. “Individuals not respecting this ban may be subject to prosecution.”

The ban does not apply to “closed cooking utensils such as barbecues with lids and small cook stoves,” although the bulletin warns they must be used with “extreme caution.”

Kluane National Park and Reserve also issued its own fire ban the morning of July 8, also citing an extreme fire danger level in the park.

More than 30 wildfires are currently burning across the territory.

More information and updates are available on the Yukon government’s website. Members of the public can also call Wildland Fire Management at 867-456-3845 for more details on the ban.

Contact Jackie Hong at jackie.hong@yukon-news.com