With a quiet fire season so far, the Yukon government has dispatched wildland fire personnel to support wildfire response operations in Fort Liard in the Northwest Territories and Fort Nelson, B.C. 

In a prepared statement, government officials stated, “the current wildfire activity and current hazard level in the Yukon has allowed for these early season deployments which will provide critical support to these northern areas and provide valuable experience for our crews.”

On May 16, nine firefighters from the Southern Lakes base in Whitehorse were sent to British Columbia. This group, consisting of three initial attack crews and three wildland fire vehicles, will assist in the response to the Parker Lake fire in Fort Nelson.

A second group, a 20-person Yukon First Nations Wildfire sustained action contract crew, left Tuesday to assist with a fire response south of Fort Liard. They were accompanied by a Yukon Wildland Fire Management agency representative.

Both requests for additional resources were made through the Northwest Compact resource sharing agreement.

Deployments can last for up to 19 days, including travel, depending on the needs of the receiving agency, and crews can be recalled within 24 hours if needed in the Yukon.

Premier Ranj Pillai said, “Adequate crews will remain at all Yukon fire bases to respond to incidents at home. With many Yukoners experiencing our own evacuation alerts and orders last summer, our hearts are with those whose homes and livelihoods have been threatened by these fires. 

“We commend the dedication of the firefighters and emergency response staff working to provide critical support and help protect our northern neighbours.”