Residents of the Village of Mayo are under an evacuation order and others in central Yukon are under an alert as a wildfire inches closer to the small communities.

The Yukon Emergency Measures Organization says it issued the evacuation order for Mayo, located just over 400 kilometres north of Whitehorse, at 1 p.m. Sunday due to hazards to life posed by the Talbot Creek wildfire burning about seven kilometres south of the village.

About two hours later, the organization issued an evacuation alert for the Village of Keno and Hecla Mine, located slightly north of Mayo, saying they are not under threat of the same wildfire but should be prepared to leave if the flames come closer.