Yukon Wildland Fire Management co-ordinated with Victoria Gold Corp. to evacuate the Eagle gold mine over the weekend as the East McQuesten wildfire grew and “the mine became an unsafe place,” fire information officer Mike Fancie said today.

Lightning has also sparked many more fires in the territory over the past few days, though none that are currently endangering any communities.

Victoria Gold released a statement on Sunday concerning 
the evacuation.

“As a result of wildfire activity proximal to Eagle and in consultation with the Yukon Wildland Fire Management team, we made the precautionary decision to evacuate non-essential employees,” said the statement from company CEO John McConnell.

The statement said the fire at the time of the evacuation was about four kilometres from the mine, and a small contingent of employees are voluntarily staying behind to maintain critical infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the weekend’s surge in lightning strikes caused fires to light up across the central part of the territory, with many near Dawson City, Old Crow and Mayo.

Fancie said there is no immediate risk to any of these communities from these fires.

There are now 98 active fires in the Yukon, 12 of which are getting a full response from Wildland firefighters.

Additionally, it was announced on Saturday that the Dempster Highway has reopened, though a travel advisory is still in place between kilometres 196 and 454.

As well, Yukon Protective Services warned in a Facebook post the highway could be forced to close again at any time due to the Enterprise Creek fire.

Evacuation alerts are still in place for the Sixtymile area south of the Top of the World Highway, the Dublin Gulch area and the Silver Trail between kilometres 10 and 35. No new areas were selected for evacuation alert.

Although the Eagle gold mine is still on evacuation alert and not an evacuation order, the mine had workers leave after discussions between Wildland Fire and the mine’s management.

A spokesperson from the Yukon government’s cabinet communications issued a statement to the Star today saying Energy, Mines and Resources Minister John Streicker and other officials have been in daily contact with Victoria Gold representatives as the East McQuesten fire has progressed.

A Facebook post from Yukon Protective Services said the evacuation was necessary after the blaze grew beyond response capabilities. As of Saturday they had 24 firefighters, an air tanker group and a helicopter working the fire.

They have also created an incident management team to oversee the response.

Today, Wildland Fire estimates the fire is 3,500 hectares, up from 2,465 last Tuesday. Fancie expects the estimate will go up when the blaze is re-sized later today.

Firefighters are currently using hand-ignitions to build a fire guard – essentially burning areas around the mine so when the fire approaches it doesn’t have any fuel left to burn.

Simultaneously, fire retardant and water are being dropped from aircraft to slow the fire’s spread toward the mine site.

They are also putting in structure protection equipment such as hoses and sprinklers.

Plans are being developed to put in a mechanical fire guard using bulldozers and other heavy equipment to clear an area around the fire.

The mine property is approximately 555 square kilometres in size, according to the company.

Elsewhere, many of the new lightning-caused fires are in wilderness areas, meaning they don’t warrant a response from fire crews.

However, Fancie said Wildland Fire is currently working on evaluating options for what is an evolving situation.

“We’re putting all available resources into identifying and assessing and then responding to new fires on a priority basis,” 
he said.

Fancie said he is aware people in the Old Crow area are concerned because smoke is visible from the community and that a “significant number of resources” are being prepared to be sent to the area should any of these fires threaten the community.

“There are some fires that are a reasonable distance from Old Crow, and I understand some of the smoke is visible from the community and that’s causing some concern,” Fancie said.

“We’re in the process of orga-nizing resources to prepare for the logistical needs of managing wildfire in Old Crow.”

Wildland Fire does have a representative in the Old Crow currently, and one issue they have identified is a lack of aviation fuel they need to fight fires in the area, which is about 1,000 kilometres north of Whitehorse.

They are currently working on creating the fuel stockpile they would need for firefighting efforts.

There are about a dozen fires in the Old Crow area currently shown on the map issued by Wildland Fire.

The East McQuesten fire, along with the large uptick in lightning strikes over the last two weeks, is beginning to stretch the resources of Wildland Fire, Fancie said.

He said it’s best if crews can catch the fires before they get beyond a hectare or two. If caught early, they can actually put the fires out; otherwise, they move to containment. If fires are in a wilderness area, they can usually just let them burn.

“There’s a nation-wide shortage of firefighters, so we’re working hard to take care of all the new lightning-caused fires as they cross the landscape,” he said.

“The East McQuesten fire is certainly also causing us to look for ways to make the most of the crews we have.”

Cabinet communications staff said the government fully backs Wildland Fire in their process in responding to fires in the territory.

“We understand there is currently a very high fire load and new fire risk, and resources are stretched across the territory,” the statement reads.

As there are so many fires burning in the Yukon, Fancie encouraged people to check Wildland Fire’s online hub for up-to-date information at https//:wildfires.service.yukon.ca