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Yukon First Nations Wildfire to Deploy 20 Firefighters to Bear Creek Wildfire

Thursday, 30 May 2019 15:29

The Bear Creek Wildfire is burning near Haines Junction (Photo courtesy of Yukon Government)

Yukon First Nations Wildfire CEO Chad Thomas says twenty of their firefighters are set to be dispatched to the growing 570-hectare Bear Creek wildfire burning near Haines Junction.

Yukon First Nations Wildfire CEO Chad Thomas says twenty of their firefighters are set to be dispatched to the growing 570-hectare Bear Creek wildfire burning near Haines Junction.

Thomas says his crew are set to be dispatched to the area in the next couple days.

"We're in negotiations with Yukon Fire Management to send 20 personnel there by Saturday. We're really excited about that. Yukon First Nation Wildfire employs about 20 Southern Tutchone firefighters.  There excited to get out there and do their part and help out their First Nation."

Thomas says his crew will be part of a larger Canadian team heading to Haines Junction to battle the wildfire.

"What is comes down to is that you have to have all of your certification. They placed the call in that they need additional resources to tackle that fire and then Yukon Government decided who those resources will be. We got the call for 20 people and then they also called in 60 firefighters from Ontario as well."

Thomas says his crew are also ready to tackle the holdover fire burning close to the community of Telegraph Creek if they're needed.

Initial Attack Resource Officer Wayne Risby says holdover fires are often complex to fight given the location of where they're burning.

"It's worrying for the community due to the fact that there's more fire activity on the fire over the winter, which originally looked as if it were completely out. As we know, there are always holdover fires that go underground.  As the snow insulates it, it keeps burning. As spring happens and snowmelt occurs, they'll pop back up again. The majority of them will actually be inside the huge burn itself where there will be green islands burning off. That isn't a threat at the time, but if it's at the edge of the fire that burned last year, than there a possibility of it picking back up again and causing a problem." 

Two properties south of the Bear Creek Wildfire have since been evacuated and 20 wildland firefighters, bulldozers and four helicopters are currently battling the blaze.  

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