Latest news with #NorthernAlberta
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
4 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
2 northern Alberta communities to return home almost a month after fleeing wildfire
One of several fires that make up the Red Earth Creek Creek complex can be seen in a photo from June 2, 2025. (Photo: Alberta Wildfire) Three communities in northern Alberta will welcome home residents displaced by wildfires. For some, it's been almost a month since they left. Evacuation orders for Red Earth Creek and Loon River First Nation will be lifted on Wednesday. Red Earth Creek was evacuated on May 28 and Loon Lake was evacuated early the next day. To the west, Saddle Hills County lifted its evacuation order on Tuesday for the Blueberry Mountain area. It was first issued on June 13. An evacuation alert remains in effect for returning residents in all three communities. Evacuation orders remained in effect for Chipewyan Lake, Peerless Lake and Trout Lake due the Red Earth East fire complex, which is made up of 10 wildfires in the Slave Lake forest area. Those communities were all evacuated at the end of May. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 51 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection areas, with 18 classified as out of control. The province said recent rainfall in central Alberta has assisted firefighting efforts but conditions remain dry and warm in the north. A fire ban was in effect for the entire northernmost part of the province. The most up-to-date information can be found on the Alberta Fire Bans website.
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
Globe and Mail
09-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Calgary-based oil giant appeals fine over wildlife deaths in tailings pond
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. CNQ-T is appealing a $278,000 fine for a major environmental infraction that killed birds and endangered coyotes and wolves near its Horizon oil sands mining operation in Northern Alberta. The Alberta Energy Regulator levied the fine in July last year. Tyler Callicott, its director of enforcement, wrote in a judgment that the Calgary-based oil giant failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent wildlife from coming into contact with toxic tailings at the oil sands site. But the oil company says the regulator erred in applying pertinent legislation and, as a result, issued a penalty that was far too high. It wants the regulator to reduce the fine by more than 80 per cent, to $46,750. Canadian Natural's net earnings were $7.4-billion in 2024. The fine stems from CNRL's lack of action after it discovered that an island had formed in a tailings pond at Horizon in the spring of 2021. Tailings ponds contain process-affected water and bitumen that is toxic to wildlife – both to birds, which lose their insulation, waterproofing and ability to fly when heavily oiled, and to the predators that eat them. No birds were nesting on the island when CNRL first noticed it in 2021, so the company continued with its usual bird-deterrent activities until the island was eventually submerged by rising water. It made no effort to eliminate the island or manage the level of water to prevent its re-emergence, according to a written decision from the regulator. In the spring of 2022, the island re-emerged and became a habitat and nesting site for birds - and their predators, such as wolves and coyotes, which could access the island through a strip of shallow water. Canadian Natural reports first-quarter profit beat and record oil and gas output On May 21, 2022, CNRL discovered 271 California gull nests and a Canada goose nest on the island. Two weeks later, it notified the regulator of the formation of the island and measures it was taking to prevent birds from coming into contact with toxic tailings. 'These, and subsequent, mitigation measures were not effective in preventing animals from coming into contact with a hazardous substance,' the AER's Mr. Callicott wrote in his decision. The regulator deemed the incident major, given that CNRL reported 411 bird fatalities between May and August of 2022, and that coyotes and wolves accessed the island through the water of the tailings facility and killed oiled birds. In a 114-page appeal lodged on May 6, CNRL argued that a hazardous substance must 'come into contact with or contaminate' an animal for an offence to have occurred, according to environmental rules. But for a portion of the contravention period there was no proof of oiled birds, CNRL argued in its appeal. Instead, the regulator said in its judgment that it was only 'likely or inevitable' that birds were contaminated by the toxic tailings pond, because nests were present on the island. When the regulator relied on 'likely or inevitable' contamination, it issued a penalty for 76 days, from - May 21, 2022, when the first gull nests were identified, until Aug. 4, 2022, when the gulls had all left the island. But given there were only 13 days when oiled birds were identified, CNRL said the penalty should be capped to that time period. The company acknowledged in its appeal that the incident was significant. But it argued that the base penalty should be reduced owing to Canadian Natural's 'good faith and mitigation measures in response to the incident.' Oral final arguments on the appeal will be held on June 18.
CBC
05-06-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Nearly half of northern Alberta community destroyed as wildfires flare
As Albertans forced out by wildfires are being allowed to return home, other evacuees are learning their homes have been lost to the flames. During what has proven to be a devastating wildfire season across western Canada, the remote community of Chipewyan Lake has been among the hardest hit in Alberta in terms of damage to infrastructure. Close to half of the buildings in the small community, nestled in the boreal forests of northern Alberta about 450 kilometres north of Edmonton, have been destroyed. A wildfire swept through the remote community last week, hours after it was evacuated. Questions remain about how and when the community can rebuild, and where its 100 residents will live during the long recovery ahead. Chipewyan Lake lost some of its most critical community buildings, local emergency management officials with Bigstone Cree Nation and the MD of Opportunity No. 17 said Tuesday. Flyovers of the community show 38 structures and nine sheds destroyed. An additional 10 buildings have been damaged, while 38 structures appear intact. Marcel Auger, reeve of the municipal district, said an aerial assessment was completed by forestry officials on June 1. Ground surveys of the damaged buildings began Tuesday "The information is still not 100 per cent accurate until we have a boots-on-the-ground assessment completed," he said. "We will need to complete assessments of the community. We will also need to conduct a major cleanup and rebuild damaged infrastructure." The destroyed buildings include the Bigstone Health Centre, a local church and the community's water treatment plant — as well as homes and sheds. An aerial map released Wednesday shows the flames breached the community's sole entrance road before ripping through the heart of its streets, overlooking the southwest edge of the lake. Red dots, representing complete losses, dot the map. 'Committed to rebuilding' A wall of flames tore through the community on the evening of May 29, temporarily trapping eight firefighters overnight when their dispatch radios failed. The flames flared, consuming buildings and toppling trees, blocking the only road out. The firefighters were forced to take shelter overnight in a local school and fire hall before a rescue crew could cut a path through the downed trees. Andy Alook, chief of Bigstone Cree Nation — which is made up of Chipewyan Lake as well as the communities of Calling Lake and Wabasca — said local government officials are working closely in the wake of the disaster. "Our governments are committed to rebuilding the community of Chipewyan Lake," Alook said in Tuesday's update to evacuees. "We are lobbying both the federal and provincial governments to support the efforts." Officials are working to obtain temporary housing solutions as soon as possible in Wabasca and are discussing permanent housing solutions in Chipewyan Lake, Alook said. The fire threatening Chipewyan Lake has now consumed more than 132,170 hectares and continues to burn out of control. It's part of a complex of four wildfires in the region that has triggered ongoing evacuation orders in nearby communities including Red Earth Creek, Peerless Lake, Trout Lake and Loon River First Nation. Evacuation lifts in Swan Hills On Thursday afternoon, more than a week after evacuation orders were issued, the 1,300 residents of Swan Hills received word it is safe to return home. Evacuation orders have been downgraded and now changed to a four-hour evacuation alert. Residents of the town are allowed to return to the community as of 11 a.m. Thursday, but must be prepared to leave on short notice. A wildfire, covering more than 16,880 hectares, continues to burn about eight kilometres north of the town, around 220 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. As of Thursday morning, a total of 52 wildfires were burning across Alberta — 21 are out of control and eight are considered a current threat to nearby communities or critical infrastructure. While relatively cooler temperatures this week have helped firefighting efforts, conditions remain dry and the wildfire risk remains extreme in regions across the province. Around 4,000 Albertans have been forced to evacuate their homes. Thousands more have been put on evacuation alert and must be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.
