Warm snap closes multiple highways in southern Yukon

Just weeks after Yukoners pleaded with Mother Nature to ease off the extreme cold, travel was snarled across the southern part of the territory thanks to unseasonably warm weather.

As of 7 a.m. YT, the Alaska Highway was closed between Watson Lake and Jakes Crossing southeast of Whitehorse. The Haines Road, from Dezadeash to the Alaska border, and the South Klondike Highway, from Carcross the Alaska border, were also closed.

The Department of Highways and Public Works said there's also an elevated avalanche risk on the South Klondike.

There are also multiple travel advisories in place for other sections of key highways, according to 511yukon.ca.

RCMP told CBC Wednesday morning that a school bus slid into a ditch on the Alaska Highway east of Whitehorse. Nobody was hurt, and another bus was on the way to pick up students.

Meanwhile, ATCO Electric Yukon said its crews were responding a power outage along the Alaska Highway corridor between between Jakes Corner and Teslin caused by downed transmission lines. ATCO said the highway closure was hampering efforts to respond to the outage.

Temperatures were above freezing Wednesday morning in Whitehorse, Watson Lake and Teslin. The warm weather is forecast to last into the weekend.

Meanwhile, many sidewalks in downtown Whitehorse were coated in glare ice.

The City of Whitehorse on Tuesday said the warm weather would likely disrupt city snow clearing operations.

"Residents can expect challenging conditions throughout the city’s transportation network," the city said in a news release.

"Crews have been working diligently to remove snow from residential areas in recent days, and that work continues. Residents can expect some snow to melt, creating slushy and rutted conditions during the day and then freezing into place overnight."

The city also warned property owners that they are responsible for clearing sidewalks in front of their homes and businesses, and face fines for not doing so.