North

Yukon ready for fire season, as air tanker groups arrive

Yukon has hired some planes to help battle the territory's wildfires this season, including two spotter planes, a large Lockheed L-188 tanker, and three Air Tractors.

Two tanker groups have been involved in training this week

A Lockheed L-188 air tanker, one of six aircraft hired by Yukon to help battle wildfires this summer. (Dave Croft/CBC)

Yukon fire crews are welcoming some extra help to battle this season's wildfires: firefighting aircraft, hired by the government.

They arrived earlier this week and have been engaged in training exercises around Whitehorse.

There are six aircraft in total — two spotter planes, a large Lockheed L-188 tanker, and three Air Tractors which were previously used as crop dusters.

Yukon's Fire Information Officer George Maratos describes the Air Tractors as "a little smaller in size, but really efficient. They can get in areas that maybe bigger aircraft cannot." 

Maratos said the aircraft are the same ones that were in Yukon last year.

So far this year, Yukon has seen 10 wildfires, but only one is still active. It's an estimated 227-hectare blaze near Hunker Creek, about 24 kilometres from Dawson City. Firefighters and helicopters have been fighting it for the past week.

As of Thursday, the fire danger was considered "low" for most regions of Yukon, but "moderate" in Carmacks and Whitehorse, while the Haines Junction area was deemed "extreme." 

With files from Dave Croft