May 23, 2019 - 7:53 AM
WHITEHORSE - Residents in many parts of Yukon are feeling the effects of smoke from a wildfire burning about 1,000 kilometres away in Alberta.
Yukon Wildland Fire Management says smoke arrived in the Whitehorse area early Wednesday and a map tracking the plume shows coverage extending more than 500 kilometres north.
The thickest concentration is in east-central Yukon over the Mackenzie Mountains, south of the Arctic Circle.
Fire officials say the smoke is not from any of three active wildfires in Yukon, but from the roughly 920-square kilometre blaze threatening the northern Alberta community of High Level.
The elderly or anyone in Yukon with heart, lung or chronic breathing problems is urged to stay indoors..
Smoke from the High Level wildfire has prompted Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for the entire northwestern corner of Alberta, the Fort Nelson region of northeastern British Columbia and the Watson Lake area of southeastern Yukon. (CKRW)
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019