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Wildfire prompts closure of Nahanni Range Road in Yukon

Officials say the 260-hectare fire was reported Thursday and was caused by lightning. The fire and nearby cabins are being monitored.

Officials say fire was caused by lightning; nearby cabins are being monitored

A stock image of a Yukon wildfire. Officials say Nahanni Range Road has been closed because of a lightning-caused wildfire that started in the area on Thursday. (Andreas Pohle/Yukon Wildland Fire Management )

Nahanni Range Road, off Robert Campbell Highway in Yukon, has been closed because of a wildfire in the area.

That's according to a notice issued by Yukon's fire and public information officer late Thursday evening.

The road is located on the eastern side of the territory, north of Watson Lake, and stretches toward the Northwest Territories border.

The 2.6-square kilometre fire was reported on June 21. It was caused by lightning.

The notice states fire activity has decreased and the fire is being monitored, as are nearby cabins. Structural protection has also been put in place.

Another small, lightning-caused fire — less than a square kilometre in size — was contained less than a kilometre south of the Top of the World Highway on Thursday, according to the notice.

Anyone looking for road closure updates can find them on Yukon 511. Emergency updates are also available on the Yukon government's website.

According to Yukon's fire map, there were five active fires in the territory as of Friday morning.