Dawson City 'used to living with risk,' mayor says as nearby wildfire grows

The mayor of Dawson City says people are feeling "apprehensive" about a wildfire burning east of town but he's confident that officials are prepared for any scenario.

The Coal Creek fire east of townhas been growing in recent days, and some nearby residents are under an evacuation alert. As of Thursday night, the lightning-caused fire was an estimated 7,250 hectares in size and was burning about 5.5 kilometres from Henderson Corner, and fivekilometres north of the North Klondike Highway.

Dawson City itselfis not considered to be at risk.

"We're nowhere near that yet," said Mayor Wayne Potoroka on Thursday afternoon.

He said people outside of town who aresubject to the evacuation alert should make sure they're prepared. He also says residentscan be assured that emergency officials are planning and preparing for whatever might happen.

"That's great comfort for me People are good at what they do and they know what to do when those situations arise," Potoroka said.

"We know that anything can happen. We've seen that in other parts of the country.But everybody's doing exactly what they need to do to give us the best chance possible to make sure that we don't suffer a horror show like other places in the country."

Fire officials say the fire was "very active" on the northwest and east perimeter on Thursday, buthad not spread further southwardclosertoHenderson Corner and Rock Creek.

"Rock Creek and Henderson Corner are being protected with a combination of sprinkler systems and mobile water cannons. Crews are preparing a cut line north of the Klondike River to remove fuels between the fire and affected neighbourhoods," reads an update on the government's website from Thursday night.

Potoroka said it "sucks" for people to live under an evacuation alert.

"But at the same time, I think folks in the Yukon, in the Klondike in particular, are used to living with risk. Living in the Yukon, in fact, brings a little bit of risk with it, whether it be floods or fire, as we're all learning this summer," he said.

'We can't leave the animals'

Jennifer Sadlierco-owns and operates the Klondike Valley Creamery, a dairy farm on the banks of the Klondike River. It's one of the properties now under an evacuation alert.

She said on Thursday afternoon that she could see large plumes of smoke off to the east and north. They were feeling "anxious" at her farm, but were planning on staying putto ensure their cows are OK.

"We can't leave the animals alone to take care of themselves. And so we'll stay here with them," she said.

"They're a good group of calm cows."

Sadlier was confident that her farm would come through alrighteven if the fire moved through the area. She said the farm issurrounded by grassy fields with not much to burn. The cows canbe moved into a structure that's protected by a fire suppression system, she said.

"The worst case scenario, we're going to see it go around us, andthe air quality is going to get really bad. So I'm hoping, hoping against hope, that that's the way it works," she said.