Peace River Area Update

Wildfires Relatively Calm Today As Firefighters Arrive From Ontario

Posted on Sat, Jul 04, 2015

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With over 100 wildfires burning in the province, Alberta called for some more support and Ontario has answered, sending another 49 firefighters, four of which arrived in the Peace River Wildfire Management Area today.  This four-man firefighting crew is trained and ready to action any new wildfire starts in the area.  

This sharing of resources occurs often and is made possible by the Mutual Aid Resources Sharing agreement (MARS) between all provinces and territories of Canada.  When a province is in need of any kind of resource due to extreme wildfire situation, the MARS agreement enables provinces to send what is required quickly and efficiently.

Wildfire Hazard

The wildfire hazard in the area is now MODERATE for tomorrow (Sunday), provided the forecasted rains occur as predicted.  Temperatures are expected to be a little warmer tomorrow at around 21 degrees Celsius.  Winds are expected to be lighter at 10 km/hr from the southwest. A light amount of rain has been forecasted for most of the area and there is a small chance that some lightning will come with it. If the rain doesn't come as forecasted, there will be less relief in the fire hazard levels than anticipated.    

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

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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.

Fire Weather Advisory

Effective at 12:00 pm today, the fire weather advisory for northern and central Alberta ended.

Concerns About Smoke?

Anyone with health concerns regarding the smoke should check the Alberta Health Services website or call 811 for 24/7 health advice from Alberta Health Link. For a smoke forecast map, please visit Wildfire Smoke Forecasts for Western Canada.

Local Wildfires

There have been 134 wildfires in the Peace River Wildfire Management Area this fire season, all but 8 of which have been extinguished.  

Active wildfires in the area current as of 7 pm on July 4 (changes have been italicized): 

  • PWF 052  is under control at 1202.80 hectares 
  • PWF 054 is under control at 36.60 hectares
  • PWF 116 is under control at 5.40 hectares northeast of the Notikewin Provincial Park
  • PWF 130 is under control at 1.0 hectare in size in the Hawk Hills area 

NOTIKEWIN COMPLEX

Due to the smoke drifting into the area, concerns have been raised that these fires are burning into communities (Manning, Dixonville, Deadwood).  Please note that these fires are currently over 50 kms to the west of these communities.

  • PWF 129 is out of control at 530 hectares in the Notikewin area (approximately 15 kms northwest of Sulphur lake). The fire has now been encircled by dozer guard. 
  • PWF 131 is currently 2,506 hectares in size.  This fire is located approximately 10 kms west of Sulphur Lake and 15 kms northwest of Stony Lake.  The dozer guard is now approximately 30% completed on this fire.
  • PWF 132 is under control at 0.30 hectare in size.
  • PWF 133 was extinguished at 0.01 hectare.
  • The cooler temperatures, higher relative humidities and small amount of rain that went through helped to keep the fire behavior on each of these fires relatively quiet today.
  • *In order to ensure the safety of the public and our firefighters, access onto the Notikewin Tower Road, the DMI P2 200 and the Silver Creek Road 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 

BC FIRE

  • BPZ002 - The wildfire located just on the BC side of the Alberta/British Columbia border in the Fontas area is now over 8,317.90 hectares in size and has now crossed into Alberta.  Approximately 350 hectares of this fire are now burning within Alberta.
  • BPZ002 MAP     

Please click the link for an explanation of wildfire statuses.

Provincial Wildfires

There are 116 wildfires currently burning in the province, 49 of which remain out of control as of 7 pm on July 4.  

The 2015 fire season has been busier than average for the province with 1,279 fires and 373,346 hectares burned thus far.  This time last year, there had been 768 wildfires with a total of 2,004 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