The wildfire hazard is VERY HIGH. The FIRE BAN and QUAD BAN continue.
The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 15, humidity of 25%, and winds NE15 km/hr. The northeast winds pushed smoke from the Fort McMurray fire as far south as Lac La Biche this afternoon. Temperatures are climbing and humidity is expected to drop as we approach the weekend. There is no precipitation in the forecast for this area for the forseeable future. Conditions remain very volatile in the forest area. Thank you for respecting the fireban and quad ban and reducing the chances of starting new wildfires.
There are no new fires in the area, as of 7pm. The smoke you are experiencing is from the Fort McMurray fire. You can expect the smoke to get stronger over the next few days as the winds remain out of the northeast.
Our crews did an amazing job of getting the last two fires in our area extinguished. We have no active fires in the area currently. We have 27 crews, 28 helicopters, airtankers and various pieces of heavy equipment on hand across the area, ready to fight any new wildfires.
The photo below shows firefighters working on the Fort McMurray wildfire.
As of 3pm today, the Fort McMurray fire was 229,078 hectares. The warm and windy conditions today caused active fire behavior. There were flare ups to the south of Anzac and west of Highway 63. Helicopters bucketing water on these flare ups was effective. Firefighters continue to be successful in holding wildfire from the subdivisions of Timberlea, Thickwood, Anzac and Gregoire Lake Estates. Dozers continue to build guard around the north at Parsons Creek North, Timberlea/Thickwood, near Anzac and along the southern end of the wildfire. A dozer guard has been completed in the Gregoire Lakes Estates area.
There are over 700 firefighters, 29 helicopters and 13 airtankers working on this wildfire. Additional firefighters and equipment will be arriving over the next several days. For more information on the Fort McMurray wildfire, contact Leah Lovequist at 780-849-0945.
Thanks for doing your part to prevent wildfire.
For more information please contact:
Leslie Lozinski
Forest Information Officer
780-623-9758