The wildfire hazard for tomorrow is VERY HIGH. Lighting caused three new fires tonight. Dry conditions persist.
The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 25 degrees, humidity of 35%, moderate lightning and winds E20 km/hr. Areas to the north and the south of us are getting some precipitation, but anything that falls here is very isolated and very light. Lightning is causing problems for us. Winds continue to dry out the already volatile forest floor. There is a chance of some precipitation on Sunday or Monday.
We had three new fires this evening, taking us to total of 203 wildfires so far this season. There are 14 active fires in the area: 6 are under control, 2 are being held, and 6 are out of control at this time. One fire was extinguished today. We have 18 crews and 14 helicopters as well as the airtankers and three dozer groups positioned across the area to fight any new fires.
Here's a recap of the new fires in the area:
LWF 203 is Under Control at .1 hectares. This fire is in the Bovine area at 14-11-73-19-W4.
LWF 202 is Out of Control at 40 hectares. This fire is also in the Bovine area at 11-36-79-18-W4. A lightning storm and severe weather passing over the area forced us to pull tankers and helicopters off this fire at about 9:30 tonight. We hope to have tankers back on this fire early tomorrow morning. The photo below shows the active fire front before the storm crossed tonight.
LWF 201 is out of control at .5 hectares. This fire is about 15 miles northeast east of Calling Lake.
Here's the story on our existing wildfires:
LWF 200, on the west side of Winefred Lake, saw a status change today to Under Control at .02 hectares.
LWF 198, in the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, is Out of Control at 108 hectares. There was significant airtanker work on this fire throughout the day as well as two ground crews working the perimeter where safe to do so. There are no values at risk. There was no growth today.
LWF 195 is Under Control at 4.25 hectares. This fire is in the Kirby area.
LWF 192 is Being Held, at 197 hectares. Dozer guard is complete around this fire. There are still some green "islands" within the fire perimeter that were burning today.
LWF 191 remains Out of Control at 280 hectares. This fire is 25 km west of Mariana Lake.
LWF 189 is Being Held, at 103 hectares. This fire is in the Bovine area. There was no growth today. There is guard around the entire fire. Cenovus is about 5 km to the north.
LWF 175 remains Out of Control at just under 14,000 hectares. This fire, which stretches into Saskatchewan, is located just to the east of LWF 192. There are no values at risk. Guard is about 55% complete.
LWF 171 is Under Control at 45 hectares.
LWF 161 remains Out of Control at just under 14,000 hectares. There was some growth today to the north east as a result of the winds. Crews worked today on torching trees along the perimeter and heavy equipment worked on constructing guard. Dozer guard, on the southwest portion of the fire, is about 15% complete. Firefighters from Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia are working together to fight this wildfire.
The fire is about 6 miles from Highway 63 and about 7 miles from the Old Conklin Highway. The Old Conklin Highway remains closed for safety reasons.
LWF 122 and LWF 126, from earlier in the season, remain on patrol status.
ASK 001 - Saskatchewan Fire near Garson Lake, is still active on the west side. We are monitoring this fire. There are no values at risk at this time.
Air Tanker Operations Lesson
There are two "Ducks" in our area, from Quebec. These Ducks, as they are fondly referred to because they are painted bright yellow, are actually CL415Ts. The Ducks are working in our province as part of our resource sharing agreement with Quebec and have joined the fleet of airtankers protecting our forests from wildfire.
The CL415T flies about 200 mph and slows to about 120 mph to do a drop. The Ducks are 65 feet long with a wingspan of 94 feet. There have twin turbine engines and can fly for about 4.5 hours before refuelling. They hold over 6,000 litres of water/retardant. The photo below shows the inside of the tanker - the grey tanks on both sides are the tops of the water tanks.
The planes require a .75 mile long stretch of water that is five feet deep to skim. When they are ready to skim a little funnel drops down and scoops the water into the tanks. There are vents at the top of the tanks to expel the air when the water comes in. The pilot in the photo below is pointing to the skimmer scoop.
The CL415T has four doors that open on the belly of the plane, to drop water/retardant. The pilots control how they want the water to be deployed - a long, skinny trail, or a big splash, or something in between. They can open the doors (photo below) in different positions to regulate the drop. The bird dog pilot will develop a plan for the tankers and then the individual tankers can drop water in a continuous line, or pinch in on a head that's burning too hot to cut across, or implement other strategies to suppress a wildfire.
A Fire Advisory remains in place for the Lac La Biche Wildfire Management Area. Due to high hazard conditions, we are no longer issuing fire permits and existing permits have been suspended. Safe campfires are currently allowed, but may be restricted in the coming days if conditions worsen. Keep campfires small and under control. Make sure they are completely extinguished before you leave them.
Sorry, but NO FIREWORKS. 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.
The Old Conklin Road is closed at this time. Smoke is an issue in this area.
Thanks for doing your part to prevent wildfire.
For more information, please contact:
Leslie Lozinski
Forest Information Officer
780-623-9758