Peace River Area Update

There were four new lightning starts in the area within the last 24 hours and more lightning has been forecasted for the area.  Please help our crews get to these fires while they are small by calling 310-FIRE to report wildfires.

Wildfire Hazard

The average wildfire hazard level for the Peace River Wildfire Management Area is now MODERATE. Temperatures are expected to be in the low twenties tomorrow (Monday) with 20 km/hr winds from the west. More scattered rain coverage has been forecasted for the next 24 hours.  A moderate risk of lightning has also been forecasted, creating the opportunity for more lightning caused wildfires.  

Local Wildfires

There have been 160 wildfires in the Peace River Wildfire Management Area this fire season, all but 5 of which have been extinguished.  There were four new lightning caused wildfires in the last 24 hours and thanks to the hard work of our firefighters, each of them has been extinguished.

Active wildfires in the area current as of 7 pm on July 26 (changes have been italicized): 

• PWF 052 is under control at 1202.00 hectares in the Hotchkiss area.
• PWF 135 is under control at 6.0 hectares in size west of the Clearhills area.
• PWF 155 has been extinguished at 0.10 hectares in the Cadotte Lake area.
• PWF 156 was discovered last night and has been extinguished at 0.20 hectaers in the Bison Lake area.
• PWF 157 was discovered this afternoon and has been extinguished at 0.10 hectares in the Hawk Hills area.
• PWF 158 and PWF 159 were also discovered this afternoon and have both been extinguished at 0.01 hectares in the Hotchkiss area.

NOTIKEWIN COMPLEX

Please continue to respect the restrictions to access that have been put in place for your safety and the safety of our fire fighters.

• PWF 129
  • is under control at 419.50 hectares 
  • located in the Notikewin area (approximately 15 kms northwest of Sulphur lake).
  • A dozer guard has been completed around the entire perimeter of the fire.    
• PWF 131
  • 3,167 hectares in size and is now being held.
• • This fire is located approximately 10 kms west of Sulphur Lake and 15 kms northwest of Stony Lake. 
  • Firefighters, heavy equipment and helicopters continued their work towards containing this wildfire today.  The fire received a trace of rain in the last 24 hours and did not grow significantly today. Numerous firefighters, heavy equipment and helicopters will continue to work towards containing the fire tomorrow.    
• *In order to ensure the safety of the public and our firefighters, access onto the Notikewin Tower Road, the Canfor Road, the DMI P2 200 and the Silver Creek Road along with both the Stony and Sulphur Lake recreational areas, will be limited to necessary personnel only until further notice.  Please do NOT go into the area for any reason without first calling 780-618-6215.*
• NOTIKEWIN COMPLEX MAP UPDATED JULY 21  

PBZ002 (FONTAS FIRE):

• PBZ002
  • This wildfire started in British Columbia and has made its way over the Alberta/British Columbia border in the Fontas area.  
  • Approximately 3000 hectares of this fire are now burning within Alberta. Crews patrolled this fire today and it was quiet.  
    
• PBZ002 MAP UPDATED JULY 10 

Provincial Wildfires

There are 74 wildfires currently burning in the province, none of which remain out of control as of 7 pm on July 26.  

The 2015 fire season has been busier than average for the province with 1,490 fires and 487,657.99 hectares burned thus far.  

Please visit our wildfire status map on our website at www.wildfire.alberta.ca or download the Alberta Wildfire App for more information on what is happening throughout the province.

Wildfire Preparedness

In addition to the numerous resources we currently have working on the active wildfires within the area, there are a number of firefighters, helicopters and heavy equipment groups that have been placed strategically throughout the Peace River Wildfire Management Area, ready to be dispatched to any new wildfire starts.

Fire Permits

BEFORE YOU BURN IT, GET YOUR PERMIT

Albertans in the forested areas need to get a fire permit for any burning, excluding campfires.

• Fire permits are free and you can get more information or request a fire permit by calling our Peace River office at 780-624-6190.
• Please call a week in advance of when you would like to burn in order to give our staff time to make arrangements to come out to your site and issue your permit.
• In order to further ease the process, please have your site ready according to the burning site guidelines. before staff arrive.
• All permits must be completely extinguished before they expire, so if you need an extention, please make sure to call in for one well before your permit expires.

Wildfire Prevention

Please click on the links below for more information on how YOU can prevent wildfires.

• get a fire permit before you burn
• ensure that your campfire is COMPLETELY extinguished before you leave your site
• check your ATV for dry debris that may be heating up on the hot parts of your machine.  

For More Information

• Visit us on Facebook  or Twitter or download our Alberta Wildfire App for android and apple products
• Up-to-date information fire restrictions and fire bans is available by calling 1-866-FYI-FIRE (1-866-394-3473).
• Current wildfire information
• Fire ban information
• Fire ban system