Help keep Alberta's forest safe and ensure you fully extinguish your campfire. Soak the ashes, stir them and soak them again until they're cool to the touch. Never leave your campfire unattended.
Do not burn in windy conditions and always adhere to the conditions of your permit. Dry grass can catch easily and burn very quickly. Any spark, friction or hot exhaust can easily start a wildfire.
If you see smoke or flame and suspect it's a wildfire, call 310-FIRE.
The Junior Forest Ranger members arrived last week and learnt the fine art of melon rolling on their first day in the area. Melon rolling is an important task, used to retrieve valuable hose on the fire line once it's no longer needed.
EDSON FOREST AREA FIRE DANGER RATING
The wildfire danger in the Edson Forest Area remains VERY HIGH. Use extra caution when working or recreating outdoors and keep watch of your surroundings.
A fire advisory is in effect for the Edson Forest Area section of the Forest Protection Area due to current and forecasted weather conditions. Fine fuels and woody debris are very dry and could ignite easily from any spark, friction or hot exhaust. Use extreme caution when working or recreating outdoors.
At this time, there are no changes to existing permits but any new permits will be considered on a case by case basis.
The public and residents in the Edson Forest Area can continue to use a fire pit, charcoal briquettes on a barbecue, or a safe campfire and recreational off-highway vehicles.
*Safe wood campfires - should be within a metal, brick, or rock fire ring. They are required to:
- a) be on rock, gravel, sand, or another non-combustible surface that extends at least one metre around the fire;
- b) have a responsible person in attendance to keep fire under control at all times and extinguish before leaving;
- c) have on hand enough water on site to extinguish the fire.
The fire advisory will remain in place until conditions improve.
ALBERTA FIRE BAN SYSTEM
Alberta has a color-coded system for restricting activities that may cause wildfires in the forest protection area. As the wildfire danger increases, more activities may be restricted. Before implementing any stage of the fire ban system, we consider weather, fire danger, the risk of human-caused wildfires and available resources.
For more information, visit albertafirebans.ca or download the AB Fire Bans app for Apple or Android.
EDSON FOREST AREA WILDFIRE UPDATE
Since January 1, 2022, there have been 58 wildfires in the Edson Forest Area burning a total of 39 ha.
PROVINCIAL WILDFIRE UPDATE
Since January 1, 2022 in the Forest Protection Area, there have been 661 wildfires burning a total of 97,832 ha.
To view the wildfires on a map, check out the new wildfire dashboard. It provides up-to-date wildfire information at the click of a button. This interactive tool displays important statistics on the number of active wildfires in the province, sizes, locations, suspected causes and more.
WILDFIRE NEAR NORDEGG
RWF038 is located in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area and is approximately 366 hectares in size and classified as out of control. It is located 19 km west of Nordegg, 125 km south of Edson and 94 km south east of Cadomin. There are wildland firefighters as well as helicopters and an airtanker working on this wildfire. An incident management team has been deployed to the incident and is scheduled to arrive this evening.
Evacuation orders and alerts have been issued by Clearwater County. For information on these, please visit emergencyalert.alberta.ca or download the Alberta Emergency Alert app.
To learn more about this wildfire, visit the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area Update.
FARM AND ACREAGE PRACTICES FOR WILDFIRE PREVENTION
IN THE EVENT OF A WILDFIRE
Over the last 10 years, an average of 1,000 wildfires a year have burned 190,000 hectares of forest annually in Alberta. Wildfires have forced the evacuation of thousands of people from their communities, and have even destroyed some homes and businesses. If you live on or own a woodlot, sooner or later you may have to contend with the spread of a wildfire that could threaten your livelihood. As a responsible woodlot owner you will want to make every effort to prevent an accidental fire or contain a fire that is in your woodlot area.
Be Prepared. When working or recreating in your woodlot area, be prepared to extinguish an accidental fire by having a water bag complete with a hand pump, shovels, rakes and a pulaski that can be used to construct a handline to mineral soil. A small fire actioned early may avoid the catastrophic impacts of large, severe wildfires. In the event of a large fire in your area, which is more likely in the spring or fall when the grasses are cured, there are a number of proactive options that will assist the municipal or provincial fire responders. Start with a good timber type map and show all roads and trails, and any sources of water that will support a high pressure fire pump. In addition, identify all power lines, oil and gas installations, pipelines, permanent propane tanks, and log decks or sawmill sites. This identification should include numbering or labeling on a map legend and a GPS location if available. In your harvest plan, consider using deciduous strips as fire barriers and plan to thin and prune juvenile coniferous stands that are fire prone.
Communicate Your Plan. Visit your local Alberta Wildfire office to present your woodlot values and your fire management map and to discuss your FireSmart residence initiatives. Remember that once a fire is threatening your woodlot you may have to evacuate and rely on the professional firefighters. In this case, your map and FireSmart work are the keys to protecting your investments. More information about safeguarding your home, yard and buildings can be found in the Alberta government’s FireSmart Home Owner’s Manual.
To learn more on how you can protect your farm and acreage, visit our magazine by clicking here.
FIRE PERMITS
Wildfire season in Alberta is from March 1 until October 31. During wildfire season, you are required to have a fire permit if you plan on burning in the Forest Protection Area, with the exception of a campfire. To request your free fire permit, contact the local forest area: (780) 723-8527 or you can request your permit using the new, convenient online fire permit portal.
We ask that you plan ahead, there may be delays for a forest officer to visit your site. For more information regarding fire permits, you can view our video by clicking here.
WILDFIRE PREVENTION TIPS
Albertans are always asked to use caution when working or recreating in the outdoors:
- Before you burn it, get your fire permit. Fire permits in Alberta.
- Clear debris from hot spots on your off-highway vehicle.
- Ensure your campfire is out - soak it, stir it, soak it again.
- Before you head out this weekend, check out the albertafirebans.ca website or download the app to stay informed.
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ALBERTA WILDFIRE INFORMATION
- Subscribe to the Edson Forest Area wildfire update to receive an email when new information is posted.
- Download the Alberta Wildfire App for Apple and Android device.
- Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more information, please contact:
