Fox Lake

The Fox Lake burn clearly shows the power of a forest fire, and also demonstrates how slow forest recovery is in the North. This particular forest is located in the Yukon Territory just off the Klondike Highway. It was the site of a large forest fire near Fox Lake back in 1998-1999, torching more than 100,000 acres.

In 1998, on the July long weekend, campers failed to properly extinguish their campfire near Little Fox Lake.

The fire danger was extreme. Strong winds and high temperatures took this small blaze and quickly whipped it into a major crown fire that roared through the treetops.

Firefighters and FireCat air-tankers were soon on the scene, but a fully developed crown fire is nearly impossible to control. Efforts continued all summer to contain the fire.

It stayed alive through the winter, smouldering in the ground. In the spring, firefighters extinguished the fire by digging it out. The fire cost $2.2 million to fight and altered the look and the life of the landscape

Over 4 days the fire expanded dramatically from 300 hectares to 9500 hectares.

In total, over 45000 hectars burned

For northern boreal forests, fires are a regular and necessary part of the ecosystem.

While we generally think of forest fires as dangerous and a nuisance, especially when they threaten lives and structures, these forests require fire events to distribute seeds, open up the forest floor for new growth, and provide unique habitats for a variety of animals.

 

 

The provincial flower of the Yukon Territory is Fireweed.

It is called Fireweed because it is the first flower to grow after a forest fire.

This purple flower grows all over the Yukon in June, July and August along the sides of the roads.

Fireweed (Epilobium augustifolium) a.k.a. willow herb