Yukon 'dodging a bullet' when it comes to a major forest fire, says expert

An Alberta professorsays Yukon's year for amajor forest firewill come.

Mike Flannigan,aprofessor with the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta and the director of the Western Partnership for Wildland Fire, says Yukon currently has the three ingredients for a major forest fire:fuel, ignition and weather.

"You have lots of fuel except for those 2004 fires," he said.

"Some of the landscape may be still not available to burnbut it will be soon. Ignition some years you have lots of lightning, some years you don't and then the weather. When that upper ridge parks over the Yukon for seven to 10days, then fire is fair game.

"The Yukon has been dodging a bullet."

Flannigan saidcommunities should be fire-smarting to reduce the fire risk andgivefirefighters a better chance of putting wildfires out.

• Yukon forest fire season 'remarkably quiet'