The wildfire hazard for the Lac La Biche Wildfire Management Area is VERY HIGH. Hot, dry weather means the forest is very volatile. There is no relief in the forecast until mid-next week.
Avoid unnecessary burning. Avoid or delay the use of quads and all terrain vehicles in the forest. If you must ride, stop frequently and clean grass buildup from your machine. Stomp the debris to ensure you don't leave any smouldering grass behind that could cause a wildfire.
The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 29 degrees, humidity of 25%, chance of lightning, and winds at SW15. The wildfire danger increases when the temperature exceeds the humidity levels. The saving grace for tomorrow is that the winds should be calmer than they were today and the lighting intensity is decreased.
We had 4 new wildfires today for a total of 178 fires in the area so far this season. One new fire is in the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range. This fire is being held at .03 hectares. One other fire is under control at less than 2.0 hectares and one was extinguished.
LWF 175 started this afternoon just after 2pm. The fire is currently classified as out of control and is 1,000 hectares. The fire is located about 6 miles from the Saskatchewan border and is northeast of Cowper Lake (4-26-81-2-W4). This new fire is about 10 miles south of Kimowin Lake (close to the location of the wildfire from earlier in May that burned into the province from Saskatchewan). There are no values at risk at the current time. There are natural gas facilities about 5 miles northwest of the fire. Brisk and shifting winds associated with the front that crossed the area late today made fighting this fire very tricky. Crews were working the fire along with helicopters bucketing this afternoon and evening. Dozers are moving into place to begin constructing guard tomorrow. If available, airtankers will action the fire in the morning. There is a river to the north of the fire that could act as a fire break.
The photo above shows the intensity of the fire. The photo below shows the visible smoke.
We are also working on a fire just past our boundary in the Fort McMurray Wildfire Management Area. MWF 104 is being held at 2.0 hectares. Crews supported by helicopters bucketing have been working on this fire since this afternoon.
From the 10 new fires yesterday - two fires have been extinguished, two are being held, and six are under control.
LWF 171, approximately 51 hectares (same size as yesterday), is located at 4-12-73-8-4. Helicopters were bucketing on this fire today with airtanker support earlier in the day. LWF 174, is under control at approximately .3 hectares, and is at 10-12-68-13-4.
LWF 161, Caribou Lake Fire, that started Wednesday, remains out of control at 1,000 hectares. This fire is about 40 miles north of Lac La Biche lake (1-12-75-14-W4). The smoke column is sometimes visible across the lake from town. Dozers worked round the clock for two days, but will rest tonight due to unstable wind patterns. The fire continues to be very active, more than doubling in size today. Helicopters bucketing and ground crews have been hard at work on this fire all day today. The photo below shows the fire earlier this evening.
Several other fires from earlier in the season are still active, and are either under control and on patrol status, or are being held.
Let's be careful this weekend! Our firefighting resources are stretched about as far as they can go this weekend. In addition to our busy couple of days, High Level, Fort McMurray and many other parts of the province have had multiple starts. Let's not have any human caused fires this weekend to add to the workload! Thanks for helping out by keeping campfires small and parking your quads this weekend! If you have to ride, be cautious - stop frequently and clear debris from engine hotspots.
Thanks for doing your part to prevent wildfire.
For more information, please contact:
Leslie Lozinski
Forest Information Officer
780-623-9758