The wildfire hazard for the Lac La Biche area remains EXTREME despite the cooler temperatures and increased humidity. The forecast for the next two days is for continued cooler weather with highs of 14, humidty of 25% and winds SE15. Today was a good recovery day for both fires, with higher humidity and some (very little) precipitation. Tonights winds are supposed to be quite slack, which will give smoke the opportunity to hang around. You can expect smoke in the vicinity of the fires tomorrow morning. This should clear as winds pick up during the morning. Smoke will drift northeast tomorrow, pushed by southwest winds. Conklin area should expect smoke tomorrow. Cold Lake and Marie Lake should clear up. It looks like we will have a two day window before temperatures pick up again. It won't take much to return to the extreme wildfire indices once the sun comes out again. Precip has been negligible.
The fire ban remains in place. No burning of any kind. No campfires even in a campground. You can use propane or gas bar-b-ques in the forest area. It might be cool if you're camping this weekend, but please remember the forest is still extremely dry and volatile. We need all our resources, so please do your part to make sure we don't have any new wildfires! Be very careful with quads. Stop frequently and clear debris.
Burnt Lake Fire - LWF 122
This fire remains classified as out of control at 27,462 hectares. Currently there is smouldering ground fire observed over most of the fire area as well as some torching trees. The growth in fire size reported today is largely because of the wind event last night as well as the back burning and other ignition we did on the south west flank of the fire. Today we made good progress on the northeast flank of the fire. The weather helped calm the intensity of the fire today, increasing visibility and access for the firefighters who worked hard building guard on the NE flank. SW winds will test the guard tomorrow. Conditions permitting, work will resume tomorrow on the west and southwest flanks.
There are more than 250 firefighters and staff fighting this fire, the airtankers, 16 helicopters, 6 cat units (18 cats/dozers total), water trucks, engines and other heavy equipment.
The photo belows shows torching trees in the smoke. The trees are burning behind the perimeter of the fire.
The map below is the most current map available.
Pony Creek Fire - LWF 126
This fire is 3090 hectares - it didn't shrink, but we were able to get a more accurate gps measurement completed today when the smoke lifted. Today's fire behavior was largely smouldering ground fire and isolated torching trees. The fire was trying to creep east to the power line corridor. Sustained tanker action since early this morning helped keep the fire at bay. Tomorrow's plan is to continue to work on the guard with ground crews and air support.
The fire is approximately 16 km east of Waddell Road, 20 km north of Leismer, 5 km west of Highway 881, 16 km west of Janvier, and 18 km west of Conklin.
Tomorrow's SW winds will push smoke towards Highway 881 and Conklin. Contact the RCMP for road closure information. Contact Alberta Health Link at www.albertahealthservices for air quality information.
An updated map and photos will be available with tomorrow's noon update.
Saskatchewan Fire - Garson Lake/Kimowin Lake
Crews worked to tie in dozer lines on the north and south fire perimeters today, where winds have been slowing down. Some aerial ignition was completed on the west side of the fire which is the Alberta side. The strategy behind the ignition is to conduct a controlled burn that will act as a fire break or fire stop. An updated size for the Alberta side is not available at this time.
The photo below shows the back burn - if you look closely you will see the black, burnt outline and the fire is burning behind that perimeter.
The Rest of the Area
We had no new wildfires today! We have 17 crews, 17 helicopters, two cat units, five water trucks and other heavy equipment working across the area. So far this fire season we have had 130 wildfires.
Your next update will be published at noon tomorrow, after the overnight assessment is complete.
For more information, please contact:
Leslie Lozinski
Forest Information Officer
780-623-9758