Wildfire in Ibex Valley growing slowly, remains out of control

The out-of-control wildfire that spurred an evacuation alert in the Ibex Valley area, east of the Takhini River, is growing slowly since the alert was issued late Saturday night, according to Yukon's Wildland Fire Management.

The wildfire is 244 hectares in size as of 2 p.m. Sunday, aerial crews confirmed.

That's up from a ground crew's initial assessment of 73 hectares at 1 a.m. that morning.

Two 3-person initial attack crews worked on the fire throughout the night, and on Sunday, a 17 person unit crew and three wildfire officers joined the efforts.

The Fire Marshal Office's Special Heavy Operations Team will continue precautionary structure protection work on nearby homes, the Wildland Fire said in a Sunday afternoon statement.

The fire remains "out of control" but the current forecast is calling for lighter winds today, which should help resources to hold the fire guard, according to Wildland Fire.

Peak burning periods begin mid-afternoon and will continue until late evening, according to the statement. During this period, fire activity will increase and smoke will be visible.

The Alaska Highway remains open for travel, but Wildland Fire is asking members of the public to avoid stopping on the highway adjacent to the fire to give crews room to work.

An evacuation alert remains in place for the Ibex Valley east of the Takhini River Bridge.

Two more fires were also reported yesterday. The Reverse Creek fire exhibited little fire growth and the Illusion Creek fire grew east but remains approximately 20 kilometres south from the Robert Campbell Highway.

The causes of the fires have yet to be determined.