The territorial government issued a travel advisory across the Yukon on Friday, saying wildfires and flooding, along with widespread telecommunications outages and poor air quality, have plagued the region.
Appearing on CBC’s Midday Cafe, Richard Mostyn, Minister of Community Services, said “the message is for everyone to take a little personal responsibility this summer.” He asked Yukoners to “look carefully at their travel plans” and if not necessary, not travel.
With more than 160 active wildfires — more than the Yukon has had in entire previous fire seasons — Mostyn said this could be one of the region’s worst fire seasons. “The situation in the area right now is extreme,” he told host Leonard Linklater, referring to fires burning in central Yukon, Watson Lake, Dawson City and near Beaver Creek. Most years, he said, Yukon has about 100 firefighters on the ground. This year, with support from other areas of the country, there are close to 300 firefighters and resources are still expanding. Several areas of Yukon roads are closed due to the fires, including portions of the Klondike Highway, a portion of the Robert Campbell Highway and Nahanni Range Road. (511 Yukon) If residents are traveling, the government asks them to be prepared for an emergency situation and understand that the situation can change quickly. The travel advisory recommends that you always carry water, food, cash, extra gas and other emergency supplies in order to be self-sufficient and not have to draw on emergency resources. “Make sure you can take care of yourself if, perhaps, you get stuck because of an incident on the highway,” Mostyn said.
“There’s a lot going on right now and our resources are really stretched thin. That’s why we’re asking people to help our Wildland Fire people, our emergency response people.” He said tourists would still come from outside the territory, but advised to watch for updates on road conditions and closures and “maybe change plans to places that are a little bit safer and where there are less crises.”

“It looked like the cars were disappearing into the whiteness”

Kelsey Kerr was in one of the cars trying to cross the Klondike Highway, which remains closed from Stewart Crossing to Pelly Crossing. She first tried on Tuesday, but was pulled away by the pilot after a two-hour wait. Kerr, along with those who accompanied her on the drive, spent the night in Dawson City and tried again on Wednesday. Before traveling down the highway, Kerr said the pilot car told them to keep their headlights and hazard lights on, take their time and not pass the car in front. Although the smoke wasn’t “super thick,” Kerr said she couldn’t see past about 10 cars and there were spots where she couldn’t see the horizon. “It just seemed like the cars were disappearing into the whiteness,” he said.
During the drive, Kerr said ash was falling from the sky and the heat from outside was building the car. Although the windows were rolled up, he said there were points in the drive that the air quality caused everyone in the vehicle to cough. On both sides of the highway he said there were some trees still burning, others completely burned “so just black sticks” and that the ground was smoking. “It’s definitely going to change the landscape for sure,” he said, adding that “for anyone who enjoys picking morels, it’s probably going to be a highlight of the year.” The aftermath of an eight-hectare fire on Cap Mountain in the Yukon. While traveling on the Klondike Highway between Stewart Crossing and Pelly Crossing, Kelsey Kerr said trees on both sides of the highway were completely burned, describing them as “just black sticks.” (Wildland Fire Management) During the ride, Kerr said she tried to stay positive, but thought about what could happen if the wind changed and rekindled the flames. Kerr said she had a lot of respect for the firefighters, highway crews and those who work in the call centers because “even driving through it was not a comfortable situation.”
He acknowledged that avoiding travel may be difficult for residents of some Yukon communities who rely on Whitehorse for medical appointments or may have to travel for groceries, but “if you don’t have to go anywhere … just stay home.” , he said. With more than 160 active fires — more than the Yukon has had in entire wildfire seasons — Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn said this could be one of the worst wildfire seasons the Yukon has had. (Yukon Fire Information) Updates on evacuation notices, flood warnings and air quality advisories can be found at Yukon.ca/emergencies. Changes to road conditions will be displayed on Yukon511.ca. For current wildfire information, go to Yukon.ca/get-wildfire-updates or call 867-393-7415. With recent internet outages causing communication disruptions, Mostyn said when there’s an emergency alert, the department has people going door-to-door in communities “to make sure people are informed” and “know what happens if an evacuation alert is issued .” “These are really really great times in the territory,” he said. With a total of 210 fires in the territory this year, the emergency measures agency is reminding residents of the danger of poor air quality. “When heavy smoke is present, all people are at risk regardless of age or health status,” the advisory states.
“Whether you’re in a community or traveling overland, you need to understand how poor air quality from wildfire smoke can affect your health.”