The recent period of unprecedented extreme wildfire activity underscored the need for public fire information that is readily accessible to Yukoners in real-time. To ensure that the best information is available to the Yukon public, the Government of Yukon is launching an expanded fire information map that helps people better understand the Yukon’s fire situation while also learning more about fire activity in a given area.
The map, includes statistics about fire activity in each geographic fire management district as well as in the fire response zones that guide fire response planning. By sharing this information proactively, the government is advancing the discussion about how the government balances public safety and natural ecological processes.
This is an important tool the public can use to inform themselves about potential hazards in their area, and to plan and prepare in case of wildfires.
The ability to communicate fire information with the public and with affected communities is as important to our program as our air tankers and firefighters. Information about wildfires must flow smoothly when Yukoners need it the most. Our updated and modernized wildfire map provides more information than ever about wildfires while also helping people understand the relative risk of active fires on the land.
Minister of Community Services Richard Mostyn
The Yukon Fire Map is an ArcGIS product that combines location-based information about specific wildfires with Yukon-level statistics about the fire season to date.
The map still contains fire danger ratings for the Yukon’s 42 weather stations, which now also include the basic weather data that generate the ratings.
People can learn about fires by:
- control status
- fire management district
- response zone
The territory is divided into five response zones that determine how we respond to a fire; critical, full, strategic, transitional and wilderness. This policy, called fire zonation, was created with community input in 2003. Yukon's zonation policy balances public safety with fire's natural and ecological role.
Jacob Wilson
Cabinet Communications
867-332-7627
jacob.wilson@yukon.ca
Mike Fancie
Communications, Protective Services
867-332-1928
mike.fancie@yukon.ca