Whitehorse working on forest fire defence this winter
Crew is clearing a 50-metre-wide corridor along Copper Haul Road
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Construction of a fire line along the Copper Haul Road in Whitehorse is going well, says acting fire chief Chris Green.
The work is part of a plan to strengthen the city's defences against forest fires, he said.
A crew is clearing trees and brush back on each side of the road to create the 50-metre-wide corridor.
"So along here you'll have safe areas created," Green said, "so firefighters [who] are up here combating fires, so there will be some areas where they can, I guess, be in a safe zone, or a way out, or access to a water supply that could be along the Copper Haul road."
The road runs though the bush roughly parallel to the Alaska Highway on the southwest side of the city.
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It's currently closed between the McLean Lake quarries and the Mount Sima road.
Green said that will last for about another month.
Then the workers will start working on a new section from the Mount Sima ski hill to the Mary Lake quarries. Green expects that to take until April.
The fire line is not a firebreak, which would be wider, said Green. Firebreaks are something the city might consider later.
Green said forest fires are a worry.
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"I think it's a big concern with everybody here as you know," he said.
"The snow for this year is very little, and come spring I'm worried about the moisture content that's left behind — so again, that wildfire worry is going to increase as spring approaches," he said.
Green says the brush is chipped for removal to the landfill.
Trees with a minimum 10-centimetre base will be piled in a central location where the public can cut them for firewood.