Fire Permits Required March 1, 2017
Starting March 1st fire permits will be required for any burning (excluding campfires) in the Forest Protection Area. To obtain your free fire permit please call 780-926-5407.
Please do your part to prevent wildfires this spring by making sure all winter burns are extinguished. A fire left smouldering can burn under the snow during winter and emerge as a wildfire in the spring when conditions are warm, dry and windy.
Take the time to properly prepare your burn site, know the requirements you need to be successful during your burn and know how to extinguish your burn effectively.
Before burning:
- Ensure that all piles are clear of dirt and debris. Dirty piles will smoke and linger for a long period of time.
- Ensure that you acquire proper signage for roadways near your burn site, and if there is the potential that the area could be impacted by smoke, it is your responsibility to place signage to warn incoming vehicles. These signs can be acquired from either Mackenzie County or La Prairie group, please get in contact with them prior to ignition.
While burning:
- Montitor the burn site the entire time - if it escapes, immediately report it to 310-FIRE.
- Only burn what you can control with the equipment and people you have available and adjust your burning plan according to weather conditions.
- Build it right. Brush piles or debris windrows should be free of soil, built to a maximum height of 3 metres, with a fireguard or cleared land around it to stop the spread of fire.
- Ensure good snow cover in the burn area (more than 15 cm).
After you burn:
- Spread remaining material within the pile and soak with water as required.
- Check the area and ensure that neither heat nor smoke is being produced by the pile - it should be cool to the touch.
- Check your burn site multiple times in the following weeks to ensure it has not reignited.
More about safe burning practices can be found on our website. Safe burning practices are always in season - don't let your winter burn come back to life in the spring. To report a wildfire, call 310-FIRE (3473).
Wildfire Update February 27, 2017
The High Level Forest Area has one wildfire on the landscape, which is under control at 752 hectares and continues to be monitored by firefighters. You can find the wildfire status map, here. There have been 255 wildfires in the High Level Forest Area in the 2016 season that have burned a total of 5,893.70 hectares. Please report a wildfire by calling 310-FIRE.
For more information on the wildfire situation across the province of Alberta, visit: wildfire.alberta.ca.
Victoria Ostendorf
Wildfire Information Officer
High Level Forest Area
Mobile: (780)841-9387
Email: victoria.ostendorf@gov.ab.ca
Stay current on Alberta's wildfire situation; download the Alberta Wildfire mobile app for Android or Apple products. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
