Whitehorse is not ready for an emergency evacuation, Stu Clark, the fire safety co-ordinator for the Copper Ridge subdivision, told city council Monday.

Clark said his purpose for attending that evening’s meeting was to make sure Whitehorse is ready, and reducing the combustible fuel in and around the city.

There is no building, there is no place in Whitehorse that would not be susceptible to airborne burning embers, he said.

Ione Christensen said the threat of wildfires may be the biggest threat the city has ever faced.

The city, the former mayor, commissioner and senator insisted, needs a comprehensive evacuation plan that must be communicated to the public, and that the city needs to practise.

If you don’t practise, you don’t win, she said.

Clark told council they have invited Alan Westhaver, a foremost authority on emergency planning for wildfires, to Whitehorse for Emergency Preparedness Week next month.

He will make a public address and meet with people in the community, Clark said.

Coun. Kirk Cameron invited Clark to meet with city officials to discuss what they’ve been doing over the last two to three years in the area of emergency preparedness.

Sandy Johnston, with the Mary Lake Community Association, suggested the city needs to do a better job of communicating its wildfire reduction strategy.

There’s been a lot of fuel reduction work in the southern section of the city but there seems to be a lack of information about what the general plan is for a firebreak out to the Carcross Road, he said.

Mayor Laura Cabott said improving communication is something the city and the Yukon government can look at.

Council was also presented on Monday with an emergency preparedness briefing by city staff.

Krista Mroz, the city’s director of community services, told council the city is responsible for the co-ordination of local emergency preparedness.

It’s an expansive task requiring the participation of all divisions with the city in the effort of identifying significant risks and exposures, she said.

Emergencies can include critical water and sewer infrastructure, communications and network assets, transportation emergencies, health and safety risks and so on.

She said natural and climate-related emergencies along with threats external to the city are having an impact and require close co-ordination and integration with external partners.

The city’s Municipal Emergency Management Plan undergoes regular review to ensure processes are updated to accepted standards, she said.

Mroz said if an actual crisis does not occur, it’s important an annual review should happen to evaluate the plan to identify areas of improvement.

The current plan was reviewed and revised in 2020, with the introduction of a supporting plan, the Public Safety Protection Plan, which was presented to council in June 2020, she said.

Mroz said emergency preparedness planning needs to involve all divisions of the city, as well as the government’s Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) and Wildland Fire Management.

The city, she said, will conduct a Whitehorse Alert awareness campaign which will include a test of the system this spring, and provide new users with an opportunity to register and familiarize themselves with the system.

Keith Fickling, the regional protection manager with Yukon Wildland Fire Management, told council their staff should prepare for the fire season by having resources in place ready to respond.

During the season, there is a meteorologist and fire behaviour specialist who actively monitor current and short-term weather forecasts to ensure appropriate responses to fires, he said.

Fickling said they have a number of tools in place to keep Yukoners up-to-date on fire danger ratings and wildfire activity, such as the wildfire map on https://www.yukon.ca

Wildland Fire Management continues to build fuel breaks in key areas such as the Copper Haul Road and south of Mount Sima toward the Carcross Road.

Fickling said planning is underway for the next phase of fuel breaks which will extend north of the Mount Sima ski hill.

By the end of this year, 134,000 aspen seedlings will have been planted across 75 hectares of the Whitehorse South fuel break, he said.

The EMO’s Greg Blackjack told council it’s the organization’s job to co-ordinate Yukon government departments and agencies in the mitigation, preparedness response and recovery from disasters and emergences.

“This includes actively collaborating with communities, municipalities, First Nations, federal departments, industry and volunteers to enhance emergency management readiness and capacity across the Yukon,” he said.

“Personal emergency preparedness is a cornerstone of emergency management, and the EMO leads public awareness campaigns to encourage Yukoners to identify and prepare for risks.”

Blackjack said seasonal readiness meetings are underway to support communities, First Nations, and emergency response partners in information-sharing related to any upcoming flood and fire seasons.

Support, he said, is being provided for development and planning for community and territorial emergency response plans.

Blackjack said they try to keep a steady schedule of table-top exercises.

Asked about the vulnerability of Whitehorse General Hospital to a major wildfire event, the team explained they are confident firefighters would be able to protect the facility.

They said the expansion of the parking lot to the north of the hospital has helped reduce the vulnerability.

The hospital, they noted, has also worked on evacuation plans in the event of a wildfire because of what is involved.

Several knowledgable people or organizations have appeared before council in recent years to stress the need for accelerated Fire Smarting and evacuation planning to help ward off a potential disaster.