Latest news with #AlbertaWildfire
CTV News
14 hours ago
- Climate
- CTV News
17 new wildfires spark in Alberta over 24 hour period
After a week of thunderstorms throughout the province, northern Alberta has seen an uptick in wildfires since things cooled down earlier this month. Alberta Wildfire said 17 new blazes have sparked since Thursday. There are 59 wildfires currently burning in the province's forest protection area, 18 are considered out of control. Evacuation orders for Peerless Lake, Trout Lake and Fort Chipewyan Lake are still in effect. Saddle Hills County's evacuation alert for the Blueberry Mountain area also remains in effect. More than 1,500 firefighters from Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the Canadian Forest Service, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, Australia, Costa Rica, Washington and the United States Forest Service are working on putting out blazes in the province. A fire ban is still in effect for the High Level and Fort McMurray forest areas in northern Alberta. Under the ban, all outdoor wood fires, fireworks, barbeque charcoal briquettes and exploding targets are prohibited. You can see if you are in a fire ban area here. Since Jan. 1, there have been 622 wildfires in Alberta, burning more than 676,000 hectares.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Cooler temperatures expected to tame some wildfires burning in the province: Alberta Wildfire
Alberta has a total of 49 active wildfires burning in the province, 19 of them are out of control as of Sunday evening. Alberta has a total of 49 active wildfires burning in the province, 19 of them are out of control as of Sunday evening. In the last week, central and southern Alberta saw heavy precipitation which helped keep fire activity low, St-Onge said. 'It gives a window of opportunity for firefighters to make progress. A lot of these fires are really large and they burn deeply into the ground, so this rain isn't enough to necessarily extinguish them, but it slows down fire activity and allows us to make really good progress,' said Alberta Wildfire information officer Josee St-Onge. She said it doesn't take much for whatever moisture is on the ground to quickly evaporate but it does buy crews time before any fire danger continues to increase throughout the summer. Fifty-five fires are currently under control with three being held, according to the Alberta Wildfire dashboard. Josee St-Onge said everything north of Slave Lake is drier and starting to warm up with Alberta Wildfire expecting fires to increase in those areas. 'The situation is a lot better than a few weeks ago but we didn't get the same widespread rain throughout the entire province ,' said Josee St-Onge, an information officer with Alberta Wildfire. Hot and dry weather still blankets the northern parts of Alberta with thunderstorms posing a risk to create more wildfires with lightning, leaving crews on the ground on 'high alert,' Josee St-Onge said. Crews have already been on the ground for several weeks with perimeters close to communities being well secured. 'We're pretty confident that the efforts that we've put in so far will hold, but these fires are active so residents may see smoke and other signs that they're picking up,' St-Onge said. Alberta Wildfire says it's common to see human caused wildfires ignite around a long weekend or holiday. With Canada Day around the corner, it's reminding people to pay attention to fire bans wherever they're heading and to make sure any campfires are fully extinguished and not to use any fireworks on Crown land. WIth from CTV News Edmonton's Sean McClune
CTV News
16-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Rain calms central Alberta wildfires, doesn't hit north or south
A forest is scorched after the Kiskatinaw River wildfire burned through an area along the B.C.-Alberta border. (B.C. Wildfire Service) There are 56 active wildfires burning in the province as of Monday afternoon. 23 of the fires are classified as out-of-control. Melissa Story with Alberta Wildfire said fire danger has lowered all across the province. 'The rain was helpful in lowering fire behaviour as well as the fire danger,' said Story. 'However, we didn't see the amount of rain that we needed in the northern and southern parts of the province.' But with showers forecasted for the week, she's hopeful the High Level and Calgary forest areas will get a good soak. Fires in the Slave Lake, Lac La Biche and Grande Prairie forest areas are still considered out-of-control despite getting rain over the weekend. Story said it will 'take some time' before their status changes. Story said crews are keeping a closer eye on the Sousa Creek wildfire in northern Alberta as it didn't get as much rain as other parts of the province and is close to the communities of Chateh High Level and Rainbow Lake. 'We're doing everything we can to contain that wildfire,' said Story. Several wildfires that make up the Red Earth East Complex in the Slave Lake forest area received a good dose of rain over the last few days. 'Firefighters were making great progress on those fires,' said Story. 'They are of significant size, so they will take some time to get to an extinguished status … We're hopeful that some of these communities can return home soon.' Other wildfires of note A 21,000-hectare wildfire continues to burn 30 kilometres north of Manning. Cooler temperatures and rainy conditions have slowed fire growth. Highway 35 is open between Hawk Hills and Keg River with speed reductions in place due to decreased visibility with smoke conditions. Twin Lakes Provincial Recreation Area still remains closed at this time. The Blue Sky wildfire north of Marten Beach is still classified as out of control, but did receive a significant amount of rain. Helicopters and airtankers are working to contain the fire by dumping buckets of water along the perimeter of the blaze. Highway 88 is open but smoky conditions may reduce visibility. Firefighters have made significant progress on containing the Tulip Lake wildfire near Fort Fitzgerald and Fort Smith. The fire is still classified as out of control. Kiskatinaw River Wildfire The Kiskatinaw River Wildfire burning along the B.C.-Alberta border. (B.C. Wildfire Service) The Kiskatinaw River wildfire on the B.C.-Alberta border is still considered out of control and is estimated to be 26,627 hectares in size. Alberta Wildfire, B.C. Wildfire Service and the County of Grande Prairie are coordinating response efforts. Showers on the Caribou Lake wildfire are reducing fire behaviour on the 69,307-hectare blaze. It is still classified as out of control. Fire bans Because of the wet weather, many fire bans in the province have been lifted. There are still bans in place for the High Level and Calgary forest areas. 63 per cent of wildfires in the province are caused by humans, Story said. You can find a complete and updated list of current fire bans here.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Dene Tha' First Nation hopes to lift evacuation order this week, Chief says
Dene Tha' First Nation, in northwestern Alberta, has a re-entry plan for wildfire evacuees that it hopes to execute in the coming days, according to Chief Wilfred Hooka-Nooza. The First Nation issued an evacuation order more than two weeks ago, on May 29, due to the Sousa Creek wildfire, which is burning several kilometres south of the community of Chateh, roughly 660 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. The fire is still out of control as of Sunday afternoon, according to the Alberta Wildfire dashboard. But Hooka-Nooza told CBC News that the fire's boundary has been held five to eight kilometres from Chateh. The First Nation developed a re-entry plan, which it had hoped to put into action Sunday, he said. But now the hope is to start returning people to the community Tuesday. The plan is a phased approach that would strategically allow people home over a three-day period, with people who have respiratory health concerns arriving last, Hooka-Nooza said. Wildfires forced thousands of Albertans from their homes earlier this month. But communities have recently lifted evacuation orders and alerts amid recent cool temperatures and rainy weather. "It's been a welcome reprieve from the hot, dry conditions that we have seen previous to this, that did ignite and spread a lot of the fires that are burning across the province," Melissa Story, an Alberta Wildfire provincial information officer, told CBC News Sunday morning. Alberta Wildfire reported 57 total active wildfires throughout the province as of 4 p.m. MT Sunday, about 40 per cent of which out of control, its dashboard shows. Most of Alberta has a low or moderate fire danger, the dashboard shows. But some pockets, including the High Level Forest Area in northwestern Alberta, where the Sousa Creek fire is burning, still have an elevated risk. The area hasn't had rainfall like the other regions, but there is some precipitation in the forecast this week, Story said. "We'll have to wait and see what actually accumulates from it," she said. Hooka-Nooza said the weather in other regions allowed more firefighting resources to be sent to the area. Although the fire danger in most places has dropped, Story noted that there is still a lot of time left before wildfire season ends in October, and said the potential fire risk can change quickly based on the weather conditions.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Dene Tha' First Nation hopes to lift evacuation order this week, Chief says
Dene Tha' First Nation, in northwestern Alberta, has a re-entry plan for wildfire evacuees that it hopes to execute in the coming days, according to Chief Wilfred Hooka-Nooza. The First Nation issued an evacuation order more than two weeks ago, on May 29, due to the Sousa Creek wildfire, which is burning several kilometres south of the community of Chateh, roughly 660 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. The fire is still out of control as of Sunday afternoon, according to the Alberta Wildfire dashboard. But Hooka-Nooza told CBC News that the fire's boundary has been held five to eight kilometres from Chateh. The First Nation developed a re-entry plan, which it had hoped to put into action Sunday, he said. But now the hope is to start returning people to the community Tuesday. The plan is a phased approach that would strategically allow people home over a three-day period, with people who have respiratory health concerns arriving last, Hooka-Nooza said. Wildfires forced thousands of Albertans from their homes earlier this month. But communities have recently lifted evacuation orders and alerts amid recent cool temperatures and rainy weather. "It's been a welcome reprieve from the hot, dry conditions that we have seen previous to this, that did ignite and spread a lot of the fires that are burning across the province," Melissa Story, an Alberta Wildfire provincial information officer, told CBC News Sunday morning. Alberta Wildfire reported 57 total active wildfires throughout the province as of 4 p.m. MT Sunday, about 40 per cent of which out of control, its dashboard shows. Most of Alberta has a low or moderate fire danger, the dashboard shows. But some pockets, including the High Level Forest Area in northwestern Alberta, where the Sousa Creek fire is burning, still have an elevated risk. The area hasn't had rainfall like the other regions, but there is some precipitation in the forecast this week, Story said. "We'll have to wait and see what actually accumulates from it," she said. Hooka-Nooza said the weather in other regions allowed more firefighting resources to be sent to the area. Although the fire danger in most places has dropped, Story noted that there is still a lot of time left before wildfire season ends in October, and said the potential fire risk can change quickly based on the weather conditions.
