Yukon wildfire officials say they don't want the territory's mining boom to result in more forest fires, so they are warning mining companies to be careful in the bush this summer.

The Yukon government's Wildland Fire Management Branch says it is gearing up for a busy wildfire season, citing hotter than average temperatures being forecast in central Yukon over the next month.

"Certainly the forest is drying out and given continued warm, dry conditions for the next little while and a little bit of lightning, one would expect some fires," Don Green, a government meteorologist, told reporters Friday in Whitehorse.

Officials say there could be an increase in forest fires in the region as early as this weekend.

As of Friday, the wildfire risk is moderate everywhere in Yukon except in the Mayo and Ross River areas, where the risk is high.

The Klondike region in central Yukon is where much of the current mining and exploration boom is taking place, with companies and workers gearing up to work in the bush over the next few months.

The Yukon government estimates about $250 million will be spent on mineral exploration in the territory this year.

Airtanker dispatched

"There's a lot more mining activity in the territory than there has been in years gone by. There's more people out there, there's more camps out there," said Dave Milne, a duty officer with the wildland fire branch.

There have been five forest fires reported in Yukon so far this season, including a 41-hectare lightning-caused fire that crews continue to fight nine kilometres southeast of Faro.

A DC-6 airtanker group departed on Friday morning for Dawson City, where it will be on standby at the local fire centre in case it is needed to drop fire retardant onto wildfires in the area.

Milne said officials want to make sure mineral exploration firms and others are aware of fire safety practices, especially given there will be a lot of people working in the Klondike wilderness.

"We're working on getting that message to mining companies, to the folks that are in the communities that might be talking to the miners or dealing with the miners," Milne said.

"It's important that there's not much we can do about a lightning-caused fire, but a human-caused fire in the wilderness could be disastrous when it comes to impacting our ability to deal with fires closer to communities."

Milne noted that workers at a mining camp off Freegold Road in the Carmacks area were to blame for a small wildfire that started on Wednesday. That fire was extinguished not long after it was reported.