Fire-wary Yukoners keep eye on hazy skies
Fire-wary Yukoners keep eye on hazy skies
10May 2005
publishedby http://north.cbc.ca
WHITEHORSE The skies above Whitehorse may be smoky, but forest fire officials say it’s not from anything near the Yukon capital.
Territorial fire management officials say the haze is likely due to fires in northern British Columbia.
Wildfire communications officer Paula Webber says they’ve received dozens of calls about the smoke, which first appeared Monday evening. But she says aerial surveys found no sign of fires in the Yukon.
“We did get a smoke report late yesterday afternoon from the Wheaton area but we sent our guys out and they found nothing,” she says. “But we did some research this morning and it appears the smoke is likely coming from British Columbia.”
Webber says B.C. forest officials are conducting a number of prescribed burns in the area south of Lower Post, near the Yukon-B.C. border.
At the same time, Webber warns that fire indices for the southern Yukon are getting higher every day because of warm temperatures and lack of precipitation.
Burning permits are required for any open fires through the rest of the summer.
