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‘No risk’ at this time: Wildfire near Grey Mountain visible from Whitehorse

Relatively small fire doubled in size overnight since it was reported on July 4
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Lightning seen in the Grey Mountain area during a storm on July 4 just hours after a wildfire was reported in the region. (Dana Hatherly/Yukon News)

A new wildfire burning northeast of Grey Mountain poses “no risk” to urban Whitehorse at this time despite its visibility from the city, according to a fire official.

Mike Fancie, a Yukon Wildland Fire Management fire information officer, said the three-hectare fire is being boxed in with air tanker retardant to slow its spread.

The relatively small fire has doubled in size since it was reported on the evening of July 4.

“Even though people in Whitehorse could see the column, it is actually quite far away,” he said.

The point source of the blaze is approximately 16.5 kilometres from the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport.

Fancie said the smoke column will likely be visible again in afternoons and evenings when the temperatures are warmest and the ground is driest.

Major lightning storms in the territory have been driving the fire season, he said.

Fancie is reminding residents and visitors to report abnormal things in the landscape after people called in this smoke report.

According to the website, 22 new fires have been reported in the territory in the last 24 hours.

So far this year, the Yukon has seen 154 fires with 45,806 hectares burned.

Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com



Dana Hatherly

About the Author: Dana Hatherly

I’m the legislative reporter for the Yukon News.
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