Peace River Area Update

Two Out of Control Wildfires Now Burning in the Notikewin Area

Posted on Thu, Jul 02, 2015

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A wildfire was discovered south of the Notikewin area at approximately 4:30 pm this afternoon and it has since grown to 1,200 hectares in size.             

Wildfire Hazard

The wildfire hazard in the area is now EXTREME.  Lightning is expected to pass through the area once again tomorrow which will create the opportunity for numerous wildfire starts over the next couple of days. As the cold front passes through, the winds will prevail from the W 30 km/hr gusting to 50 km/hr.  The temperatures are expected to drop down to closer to 25 degrees Celsius tomorrow.

Please help our firefighters action wildfires quickly by contacting us immediately at 310-FIRE to report wildfires.

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Fire Weather Advisory Declared – Wildfire Hazard [VERY HIGH/EXTREME]

Continued hot, dry conditions and expected wind up to 50 kilometres an hour will push the fire hazard to extreme levels tomorrow. A fire weather advisory has been declared for the centre and north of the province. Fire weather advisories are only issued when the conditions significantly increase the risk of uncontrolled wildfires. Wildfires that start under these conditions can quickly grow very large and are very difficult to put out.

The fire weather advisory is in effect immediately and will not be lifted until conditions change.

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Fire Advisory Information

The Peace River Wildfire Management Area has declared a Fire Advisory effective at noon on June 26, 2015.

Campfires
Safe campfires are permitted in campgrounds and back country or random camping areas. 

Fire Permits
Fire permits are not suspended at this time, but may be in the future if the wildfire hazard continues to climb. Fire permits will be issued on a site by site basis and may be refused until conditions are more favorable. 

Weather Advisory
Lightning storms along with strong, gusting winds are expected for the weekend. Strong winds can cause extreme fire behaviour and allow fires to grow rapidly, while lightning can ignite multiple wildfires. Residents and visitors to the Peace River Wildfire Management Area are urged to be extra cautious with any burning at this time and call 310-FIRE to report wildfires.

Contact 1-866-FYI-FIRE with questions.

Please make a habit of visiting www.albertafirebans.ca to ensure that there is no fire ban or restriction in your area before burning.

Local Wildfires

There have been 131 wildfires in the Peace River Wildfire Management Area this fire season, all but 6 of which have been extinguished.  

Active wildfires in the area current as of 11 pm on July 2 (changes have been bolded): 

  • PWF 052  is under control at 1202.80 hectares and surrounded by dozer guard  
  • PWF 054 is under control at 36.60 hectares
  • PWF 116 is now being held at 5.60 hectares northeast of the Notikewin Provincial Park
  • PWF 125 has been extinguished at 0.01 hectares in the Kimiwan area
  • PWF 127 has been extinguished at 0.20 hectares in the Kimiwan area
  • PWF 129 is out of control at 530 hectares in the Notikewin area (northwest of Sulphur lake). The majority of the fire has now been encircled by dozer guard.  The dozer groups will continue to work towards completely surrounding it tomorrow.  
  • PWF 130 is under control at 1.0 hectare in size in the Hawk Hills area.
  • PWF 131 was discovered at approximately 4:30 this afternoon and has grown to 1,200 hectares in size.  This fire is located just south of PWF 129 and northwest of Stony Lake. Unfortunately, due to the volatile and unpredictable fire behavior, we were unable to put firefighters on this fire today.  Dozer groups will be working on building dozer guard around the fire in the morning and other resources will begin working on the fire if it safe to do so.  

The wildfire located just on the BC side of the Alberta/British Columbia border in the Fontas area is now over 8000 hectares in size and has now crossed into Alberta.  Approximately 20 hectares of this fire (10 hectares on the north and 10 hectares on the south) are burning within Alberta.      

There have been a number of lightning fires already this year and it is still early in the lightning season. Often, there are multiple wildfire starts in one day as storm cells pass through.  Please help our firefighters get to these fires while they are small by calling 310-FIRE.

Please click the link for an explanation of wildfire statuses.

Provincial Wildfires

There are 130 wildfires currently burning, 53 of which remain out of control as of 11 pm on July 2.  

The 2015 fire season has been busier than average for the province with 1260 fires and 239,576 hectares burned thus far.  This time last year, there had been 720 wildfires with a total of 1858 hectares burned.

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.

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.

For More Information

 

Remember to help us action wildfires quickly by calling 310-FIRE to report a wildfire.

For more information:

CRYSTAL BURROWS - Information Officer
c: 780.618.6215   o: 780.624.7142
crystal.burrows@gov.ab.ca