Fire on 6th Avenue closes intersection in downtown Whitehorse

A section of 6th Avenue in Whitehorse closed on Sunday evening after a fire in a downtown building.

Officials said Whitehorse's fire department answered a call about smoke and fire on the roof of 604 Main St. — a residential building across from the United Church.

"Crews arrived and found smoke and fire on top of the building and are currently working to extinguish it," said  Whitehorse deputy fire chief Jason Wolsky at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. He later on explained the fire was coming from the gazebo area on the building's rooftop.

Wolsky said fire crews were on site until 10 p.m. on Sunday.

The building was evacuated and residents were not allowed back in, not even for the night, said Wolsky.

"We didn't allow any residents into the building last night 'cause there's extensive water damage from fire activities into the building. So, the property management crew is working diligently to clean that up," he said.

Wolsky said the department is starting an investigation to identify exactly what caused the fire.

"As far as injuries or accidents, I don't know at this time," said Wolsky.

There were four RCMP cars, three fire trucks, and two EMS ambulances on site.