Keno City residents take fire protection into their own hands, say gov't isn't providing enough help

When a nearby wildfire put Keno City under threat in early July, residents rushed to assemble the final pieces of their own fire protection service.

They had slowly started piecing it together this past spring. One local donated his old water truck. Others reached out to nearby mining companies for supplies. 

The community's equipment, which consists of six donated water totes, several water pumps and a water truck, is now placed in strategic locations around town.

Amber Smith, spokesperson for the Keno City Resident Council, said the community, which has been without protection since its fire truck was removed by the Yukon government in 2019, is frustrated with how slowly the Yukon government is taking action to help the community.

"I'm really angry," said Smith. "I love my town and I just want us to be safe. If I can only get one thing done, it's to get Keno to have fire protection."

But the territorial government said it is doing "an awful lot" to help the community.

Keno was put under evacuation alert on July 5, as the Hansen Lakes wildfire approached the town. The evacuation alert has since been lifted, but Smith said the community felt the need to take firefighting into its own hands. She said it's not getting the support it needs from the Yukon government.

"The reality is that we are vulnerable and so are other unincorporated communities, and we are left fending for ourselves," said Smith.

Smith said given the town's recent history with fires, residents decided "enough is enough."

Last December, following the destruction of the iconic Keno City Hotel by fire in December 2020 and a house in the community two months later, the territorial government released a review of its legislation related to fire services. 

The report listed 104 recommendations, including implementing a "fire protection in a box" program — giving small and remote communities some fire suppression gear like hoses, potable pumps, shovels and other equipment so they would have a basic capability to limit the spread of a structural fire.

Smith says the government has yet to implement the "fire protection in a box" program, and the community is growing frustrated.

"For us, it's incredibly galling to now have a fire crisis situation that has affected many small communities in Yukon, particularly in central Yukon, and we've been screaming about fire protection with YG since 2019," she said.

"The crisis is upon us and there are these resources in the community, and we are being shut out from them."