Some Yukon youth soccer tournament games cancelled due to smoke

Cali McTavish · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 6:01 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Wildfires successful the northeastern portion of B.C. blanketed Whitehorse successful fume this past weekend, forcing immoderate games — portion of a younker shot tourney — to beryllium cancelled. 

Andrew Elines, the enforcement manager of the Yukon Soccer Association, said the determination wasn't made lightly arsenic the tourney means a batch to families. 

"It's benignant of the culmination of the shot play locally present successful Whitehorse." said Elines.

But helium said the heavy fume Thursday nighttime made him deliberation helium mightiness person to marque the pugnacious call. 

"The hazard absorption broadside of my encephalon kicked in," said Elines. 

Almost 500 kids were acceptable to enactment successful the tournament. Friday's games were cancelled entirely. Most games went up connected Saturday, though play clip was reduced and the half-time interruption accrued to springiness kids much of a rest. Sunday's games were besides cancelled. 

Elines said this is the archetypal clip successful his representation the tourney has had to beryllium cancelled, but it's thing helium had thought astir and prepared for up of time. 

"Whitehorse United FC does person a information argumentation that includes aerial quality," said Elines. "I deliberation for athletics organizations, particularly successful Western Canada, it's decidedly a increasing trend."

He said helium wasn't definite if the cancelled games would beryllium rescheduled for aboriginal successful the summer, considering galore families volition beryllium distant connected abrogation implicit the adjacent fewer months.

Smoky days ahead

Much of the fume drifting done Northern communities truthful acold this twelvemonth has travel from an progressive wildfire play successful confederate provinces.

Wildfires proceed to pain adjacent the B.C. areas of Fort Nelson and Nelson Forks, wherever a fig of fires are burning retired of control. That includes the Summit Lake wildfire, which has led to an evacuation order on the Alaska Highway from Summit Lake to Muskwa River Boat Launch. 

Smoke successful Whitehorse was starting to wide up Monday afternoon, but Environment and Climate Change Canada is predicting it volition beryllium backmost by Wednesday morning. 

Anabela Bonada, the managing manager of clime subject astatine the University of Waterloo's Intact Centre connected Climate Adaptation, said Canada is already astatine the second-highest twelvemonth successful the past 30 years, successful presumption of onshore burned country-wide.

"And we're lone successful June," Bonada said.

The astir onshore burned was successful 2023. She said the outlook for July and August is for above-average wildfire conditions. The centre is expecting predominant hot, dry, windy days passim the summertime crossed galore parts of occidental and bluish Canada.