4 people evacuated from fishing lodge near Wellesley Lake, Yukon; wildfire burns 3 cabins

Four people were evacuated from a fishing lodge and three cabins went up in flames Monday morning as a wildfire burned out of control at the edge of Wellesley Lake in southwest Yukon.

Yukon Wildland Fire Management said that by Monday afternoon the fire was "quiet" and there'd been a small rainfall.

Two wildfire officers and a three-person crew worked with lodge owners and staff on structure protection.

As of the latest update on Tuesday, the fire had burned over 2,000 hectares. 

The wildfire is more than 15 kilometres east of Snag Junction, east of the White River, and more than 30 kilometres north of Koidern along the Alaska Highway

Brian Dack, owner of the Kluane Wilderness Lodge — which guests were evacuated from — said the fire had been smouldering since June. 

"Then three days ago was just the perfect storm," Dack said. "It hit 35 degrees and the wind started blowing and it took off in the afternoon."

Then, it got worse. 

"It was just total black [from the smoke]. And when I was down where it started, trying to save the outfitter's cabin and it was just like a jet engine. It was so loud and flames were scooting sky-high and [there were] big water twisters in the water."

Dack said he's still at the lodge, where fire crews are also staying.

He also said getting the guests out went smoothly and that Tuesday had brought cooler, wetter weather.

"They were fine with it. There was no panic," he said. 

Julia Duchesne,  a fire information officer with Wildland Fire Management, told CBC News on Tuesday afternoon that the fire hasn't advanced much, but is still creating lots of smoke. 

"We can expect it to keep generating a lot of smoke for the time being," she said.

Wildfire smokes continues to blanket much of the Yukon, she said.

"That's something that people should keep in mind — their own personal health and safety and how that might be impacted by wildfire smoke."

She said fire crews on site at the lodge are setting up sprinklers and pumps and cutting trees down in the area to create a fire break.  

The smoke column from the fire was visible in the area near White River on the Alaska Highway. 

In a separate update, Yukon Protective Services said the highway and buildings along the highway are not at risk at this time.