The wildfire hazard for the area is MODERATE.
The Fire Advisory has been adjusted to allow permits for burn barrels and smudges. We will be considering all other permits on a case by case basis. We are still not issuing permits for any heavy burning including windrows. For more information on permits, call your local Forestry office and your patrolman will be pleased to chat with you or visit your site.
The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 18, humidity of 45%, chance of rain, and winds at SW15 switching to N20 in the afternoon. We expect a cold front to cross the area tomorrow in the early afternoon, and we will be watching the winds associated with this passage. Winds and shifting winds can make the extinguishment work our crews are doing more dangerous as burnt trees that are still standing can be pushed over in the wind.
LWF 122, Burnt Lake Fire, had some exciting news over the weekend as the status was changed to UNDER CONTROL on Saturday morning. Industry with operations outside of the fire perimeter have been allowed re-entry into the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range. Industry with areas off road but within the fire access is being permitted upon application. There is still some smouldering ground fire and crews continue to action the hotspots. 339 firefighters continue to action the smouldering ground fire, in a systematic approach, working on hotspots identified by ongoing scans. Crews are now working 200 feet from the fire perimeter. This is steady progress. Last week the crews were working to extinguish a 100 foot band around the fire perimeter.
LWF 126, 147 and 148, Pony Creek Complex, all made good progress over the weekend. Crews are working on a grid system on LWF 126, to identify and extinguish hot spots using recent scan data. LWF 147 is also at the grid and cold trail stage. LWF 148 (Under Control at 23 hectares) has the most activity of all three fires. Crews are working to extinguish hot spots and flaring along the perimeter of the fire and are watching for any spot fires beyond the perimeter containment lines the dozers made last week.
Saskatchewan/David Fire around Garson Lake remains out of control at 11,278 hectares on the Alberta side and 36,554 hectares on the Saskatchewan side. Resources are working on both the Alberta and the Saskatchewan sides of this fire. The fire has burned north along the west shore of Garson lake. There is some dozer guard in place along the west edge of the fire, which impeded spread further west. Recent south west winds have been favorable for our side of the fire.
The Rest of the Area
We had no new wildfires today. There are three other fires in the area, all under control, from earlier in the past week.
We have 15 crews and 8 helicopters across the area, ready to fight any new wildfires. Our other crews are working on Burnt Lake fire and the Pony Creek Complex fires.
Watch Your Quads and OHVs
A day without a new fire is... unusual! It's been a very busy spring. We have had 154 wildfires so far this season. Hopefully the increasing humidity and green up in the cured grasses means we will have fewer fires for the rest of the summer. However, there is a diefinite lack of rain across the area, despite the optimistic weather forecasts. A little bit of rain will help the grass, germinate fields, and dampen things, but it will take quite substantial precipitation, over an extended period, to reduce the wildfire threat in the forest. The ground remains very dry and larger fuels like logs and trees are also dry. In areas that don't receive precipitation, the wildfire danger is still very real.
Don't let your guard down. Continue to be mindful when operating quads and OHVs in the forest.
For more information, please contact:
Leslie Lozinski
Forest Information Officer
780-623-9758