Lac La Biche Area Update

VERY HIGH Wildfire Danger - Lac La Biche Forest Area, May 6

Posted on Sat, May 05, 2018

GFX-HSB-WildfireDangerUpdate-VeryHigh.jpg

The wildfire danger is VERY HIGH for Sunday and into Monday.

The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 25 with low humidity of 20% and winds SW20, with gusts in the northern parts of the area.  When humidity is lower than the temperature, the wildfire danger always increases.

Be very careful in the forest on Sunday.  Standing grass that has not turned green yet is very dry and ready to burn.  Trees that have not leafed out yet are also dry and burnable, along with the coniferous trees.  Even without a strong wind, fires that start tomorrow will spread quickly and be difficult to contain.

We had two new fires today.  The most significant fire was caused by lightning that crossed parts of the area on Wednesday afternoon.  The charge from lightning can remain in the ground for up to three days, sparking up as a wildfire when the conditions are right.  The very warm, dry conditions today, and the light winds were just right to allow that wildfire to start.  The smoke was spotted by our eagle-eyed Lookout Tower Observer and the airtankers were immediately dispatched to drop water and retardant on the fire.  A crew and helicopter bucketing on hotspots in the fire were also hard at work.

We have 11 crews, the airtankers, five helicopters, and seven water trucks ready to fight any new wildfires.

The photo below shows our crews educating some future fire fighters on the dangers of grass fires, while letting them try out the water hand pumps.

kids with wajax on PB

 

Be mindful if operating quads on Sunday.  Watch hotspots for dry grass and muskeg that can heat up, drop to the ground and start a wildfire.

Thanks for doing your part to prevent wildfire.

For more information, please contact:

Leslie Lozinski

Wildfire Information Officer

780-623-9758

leslie.lozinski@gov.ab.ca