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Wildland Fire Management

Wildland Fire Management Watson Lake Fire Center

The Watson Lake Fire Centre is a key regional hub for managing wildland fires in southeastern Yukon. This centre is part of the broader Yukon Wildland Fire Management network and is dedicated to protecting lives, property, and natural resources through strategic fire prevention, monitoring, and suppression efforts. 


Wildland Fire Management's Regional Protection Manager's November 19, 2024 Council Meeting Presentation


The team employs a balanced approach, focusing on rapid suppression where people and infrastructure are threatened, while monitoring and managing fires in remote areas. Using advanced technologies, combined with local expertise, the Watson Lake Fire Centre ensures effective response strategies. Preparedness measures include maintaining a trained firefighting workforce, coordinating with heavy equipment operators, and leveraging a regional duty officer to oversee fire activity during the fire season. Additionally, the Watson Lake Fire Centre engages with the community through FireSmart initiatives, cross-training with local organizations like the Watson Lake Fire Department, and developing emergency and evacuation plans. This center plays an essential role in maintaining community safety, enhancing fire resilience, and managing Yukon’s unique boreal forest ecology.


Contact the Watson Lake Wildland Fire Management fire base:

Office: (867)-536-2005

Address: 310 Airport Road,

Watson Lake, YT,

Y0A 1C0


Resources from Wildland Fire Management

Wildfire Information

1.  FireSmart Canada (https://firesmartcanada.ca) - Contains a wealth of information on pretecting your home from wildfire impacts. They also offer funding streams, training and support for neighborhoods and communities to help spread awareness and to protect themselves from wildfire.

2. Yukon Wildfires (https://wildfires.service.yukon.ca) - is the Territory's wildfire situation webpage. Accessing this webpage provides you information on wildfires in the Yukon, fire bans and good materials as to how Wildland Fire Management manages Fires.

3. British Columbia Wildfire Service (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status) - is British Columbia's wildfire situation page. 


Models, Simulation and Education

4. Firesmoke (https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current) - contains a model representation of where smoke from wildfires are expected to move (please keep in mind that this is a model designed to simulate situations and will not always be accurate). Other than using this for educational purposes, it also gives a good general idea of where fires are, where smoke is coming from and where it's moving to.

5. NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) (https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:today;@-127.3,60.5,7.6z) - is a webpage developed by NASA that shows near-real-time heat signatures on the surface of the earth. This website is used to monitor fire movements but is not always accurate