Latest news with #JoseeStOnge
CBC
6 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Heavy rain helps tame wildfire danger in parts of Alberta
Heavy rain over the past week has helped lower wildfire risk in Alberta, but wildfire officials warn that many regions remain on high alert. Environment Canada reported Sunday that total rainfall amounts of more than 100 millimetres have been reported since Friday, with the heaviest rain falling along the foothills and over parts of eastern Alberta. Josee St-Onge, an Alberta Wildfire information officer, said the wildfire risk in central and southern Alberta is now much lower. "We didn't have wildfires burning in the south, but we did in central Alberta, and they've received a lot of moisture, so that's good for firefighters," she said. "On a really large wildfire, that's not necessarily enough to extinguish it because the fires are very large and sometimes they burn really deeply into the ground. But it gives us a really good window to make progress." Areas in far northern Alberta are experiencing extremely dry and warm temperatures, St-Onge said. St-Onge said thunder showers could bring lightning that could start new wildfires. Major wildfires that forced residents to evacuate for several weeks remain active for the communities of Chipewyan Lake, Peerless and Trout Lake, Red Earth Creek and Loon River First Nation. Known as the Red Earth East complex and composed of 10 wildfires centred in the northeastern portion of the Slave Lake Forest Area, it one of the largest in the province. Located near Red Earth Creek and Loon Lake First Nation, it is classified as out of control and is about 78,000 hectares in size as of Sunday. About 670,000 hectares of land has burned since the start of wildfire season on March 1. Currently, there are 54 active wildfires burning in the province as of noon Monday. Of those, 27 are considered out of control and four are considered held. The majority of central and southern Alberta remain under fire advisories, including parts of Edmonton and the fire danger risk is hovering between low and moderate for the rest of the week. St-Onge also warns about the dangers that some Canada Day celebration might pose. While she said it should take some time for wildfire danger to crawl back up to high, because of the time it takes for precipitation to evaporate, temperatures in Edmonton and surrounding regions are expected to warm up significantly later this week. "Every time we have a long weekend or a holiday, we do see an increase in human caused wildfires, often from abandoned campfires or campfires that aren't extinguished properly," she said.
CTV News
6 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
27-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Wildfire forces residents of north-central Alberta town to evacuate
Shifting winds could force an evacuation of Swan Hills, Alta., and a wildfire is burning out of control near Mercoal, Alta. An out-of-control wildfire in north-central Alberta has forced residents of Swan Hills to flee their homes. The province issued a mandatory evacuation order early Monday evening after putting the town of 1,200 people 180 kilometres northwest of Edmonton on alert during the day. Swan Hills residents were told at noon to be ready to leave with an hour's notice because of a 16-square-kilometre wildfire burning out of control seven kilometres north of the community. 'We've got a cold front coming in, and that's going to bring some variable winds. So it could be earlier than (the afternoon). It could not happen at all. But we're preparing for winds coming out of the west and possibly out of the north – pretty strong, gusting to up to 40, 50 km/h,' Alberta Wildfire spokesperson Josee St-Onge told CTV News Edmonton. 'We have a lot of resources working to contain this fire as quickly as possible, but it may be a bit challenging in the coming days.' Residents are advised to take three days of supplies and important documents with them. A reception centre for evacuees has been set up in Whitecourt at the Allan and Jean Miller Centre, 58 Sunset Blvd. , where they will be encouraged to register. People evacuated not going to Whitecourt are asked to call 780-778-3637. Provincial resources have been assigned to help local fire departments, including night-vision helicopters. Yellowhead County alert Another alert was issued on Sunday for people living southeast of Hinton due to an out-of-control wildfire west of Mercoal and 16 kilometres southwest of Robb. The fire was roughly four square kilometres as of Sunday evening. 'The smoke was very low lying this morning, so that managed to keep fire activity a little more subdued and gave a good window for making progress for the heavy equipment operators, … the firefighters and the helicopters,' St-Onge said. Provincial firefighting resources have also been assigned to this blaze and are helping local crews protect endangered buildings. The same cold front that may bring wind could also bring lightning and new fire starts, St-Onge pointed out. A few days of scattered showers and higher humidity have not been enough to bring fire danger levels across the province down from high or extreme. 'It's really important that Albertans do their part to prevent man-made or human-caused wildfires, and respect fire bans, fire restrictions, because the last thing we want right now is to be responding to new wildfires,' St-Onge said. 'We're busy enough with the ones that are already burning.' More information about the alerts can be found online.
