the citizens, this was not to be seen as a plan for an immediate emergency. "This is a plan for AN emergency, not THE emergency." While it would be disingenuous to suggest that the presence of the French Gulch Fire 15 kilometres from the town didn't have something to do with inspiring the decision to spend time and money on this planning at this time, it is nevertheless something that needs to be done by the Dome residents on a regular basis. Wildfire Management's Todd Pilgrim laid out three possible scenarios in the order of threat for the subdivision, and it turned out that the current fire situation is actually the least threatening. The 1999 fires had posed a greater risk than those currently in the Goldfields Complex. Pilgrim said that the fire at French Gulch would have to pass through a lot of less receptive fuels, as well cross Klondike River, the tailings piles, the highway, and some very bare areas like the soccer-ball park complex and a YTG gravel pit before making its way up the Dome, which helped considerably to reduce the potential threat. Now that the EMO plan for the Dawson core has been developed, Pilgrim and Wesley Barrett had spent Friday and Saturday doing a site by site inspection of the 40 or so homes in the subdivision, along the access streets named for Pierre Berton, Jack London, Robert Service and Dick North. "It's not a plan that we're going to run and do tomorrow," said Pilgrim, "but it's a plan for any threat of fire, any time." Wildfire Management has been working to prepare similar assessments for Sunnydale, West Dawson, Bear Creek, Rock Creek and Henderson Corner, cooperating with residents and the two local volunteer fire departments. Again, officials and local authorities stress that this is not out of some sense of panic, but rather so there will be no occasion for panic if the need arises to implement a plan. Like downtown Dawson, most of the homes on the Dome have metal roofs, which is a good thing. On the other hand, they are all country residential properties, and therefore have lots of trees. Most lots have predominantly deciduous (leafed) trees as opposed to the more volatile conifers. During the 1999 season about 145 kilometres of cat guard was ploughed along the northern flank of the area to keep out a fire coming from the direction of Moosehide. While that has grown over some, it still provides a base from which to start other fire breaks around the Midnight Dome and the Second Dome (or Fire Lookout Dome). Barrett indicated that a team of specialists could install protective sprinkler kits on every building on the Dome in about nine hours. Water tankers would need to be put in place fairly quickly, but residents could also make use of their own water tanks for sprinkling. Homes on the Dome are all on water delivery. Sprinklers raise the relative humidity of a site and cause a fire to divert around it to more receptive fuels. At the same time, of course, residents could expect to be bombed by tankers full of fire retardant and choppers with heli-buckets of water. Residents asked thoughtful questions about strategy and discussed the need to thin out the trees on their lots. They wanted to know if fire smart assessments could be done by wildfire management personnel at a future date. It can, though Dan Baikie, in charge of the Dawson fire suppression base at the airport, indicated coyly that his people were a little too busy to take on anything else at the moment. Dawson fire chief Chris Mayes told the meeting that the City of Dawson has been working in collaboration with the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and YTG's Fire Smart program to develop a five year plan for dealing with fire issues in the area within the town's boundaries. "We've got a little bit of a glitch because the legislation won't be in until the fall, so that's when we'll know if we have the money," Mayes said. "From what I hear it's a 50/50 shot, but our situation might speed their ideas up about our need." Possible plans for the Dome include an enlarged water storage area and a possible landing pad for a helicopter to assist in situations that might develop there. Pilgrim wrapped up by noting that this action plan and this year's assessment should not be the end of the process. Any plan should be revisited annually to determine if there has been new construction or changes in the situations on any of the lots. | 
