Wildfire Danger
The wildfire danger remains Very High to High for the Slave Lake Forest Area. Click here to view the wildfire danger map for Sunday.
The Fire Ban and OHV Restriction remain in place for areas north of Lesser Slave Lake. To view a map of the Fire Ban/OHV restriction area visit www.albertafirebans.ca
To report a wildfire call 310-FIRE or #FIRE on your cell phone.
Wildfire Update
Since the start of the wildfire season on March 1st, there have been 102 wildfires and 320,037 hectares burned in the Slave Lake Forest Area.
New Wildfire Starts
There was one new wildfire start today. SWF-102 is 150 hectares in size and is being fought with 8 firefighters, 1 helicopter, 2 airtankers and one dozer.
Active Wildfires
SWF-093 was scanned today, no hot spots were found. It is classified as extinguished at 98 hectares in size and is located 11 kilometres south of Chipewyan Lakes.
For information on the wildfire situation across the province of Alberta click here.
Photo taken June 8th of ignition operations on the northwest side of the fire to bring the fire's edge to man-made boundaries
McMillan Wildfire Complex
It was a busy day at the McMillan complex today and crews worked hard to build and strengthen line across SWF-049. Crews and heavy equipment continue to work in stubborn areas on the southeast side of the fire and are building line through harvested areas. Firefighters continue to support heavy equipment along the south side of the fire to reinforce their dozer lines. Crews are laying hose lines north of McLeod Lake to build control line on the east side of the fire. Firefighters have progressed well along the western side of the fire – laying hose north to Calder Lake and McConachie Lake. Also further north on the western side of the fire, crews are containing active areas of the fire south of Sawle Lake with bucketing helicopter support. In the northwest and northeast sectors of the fire, crews are cutting helipads to improve access to these portions of the fire. Airtankers supported the northeast flank of the fire today immediately west of SWF-079 to reduce fire behavior along the fire perimeter.
Crews are working hard to encircle SWF-079 with the aid of bucketing helicopters to knock down the fire behavior.
Great progress continues to be made on SWF-078, SWF-090 and SWF-099 as all of these fires are under control.
Structure protection remains in place in Trout Lake, Wabasca, Bigstone Cree First Nation and Marten Beach. Structure protection crews will be maintaining sprinkler systems at these sites.
The wildfires are:
- 4.9 and 3.3 kilometres west of Wabasca No. 166B and 166D
- 26.5 kilometres northeast of Marten Beach
- 32.8 kilometres northeast of Slave Lake
- 9.3 kilometres southeast of Trout Lake
SWF-049 is 258,217 hectares and is classified as out of control.
SWF-078 is 137 hectares and is classified as under control.
SWF-079 is 993 hectares and is classified as out of control.
SWF-090 is 185 hectares and is classified as under control.
SWF-099 is 2 hectares and is classified as under control.
There are 477 firefighters and support staff, 44 helicopters, airtankers, and 43 pieces of heavy equipment fighting this wildfire.
Click here to view a map of the McMillan Wildfire Complex.
Click here to view a map of the wildfires burning in Alberta.
An Alberta Wildfire Information booth is set up at the Calling Lake Evacuation Centre.
Wildfire Information Officer for the weekend is Becky Heemeryck, she can be reached at (403)844-0808
Alberta Emergency Alert and Road Closures
The communities of, Hamlet of Wabasca, Bigstone Cree Nation - Wabasca # 166, and Chipewyan Lake Village remain under an evacuation order, however conditions have improved. Heavy smoke is in the area and there are road closures due to the wildfires. Additional information for residents can be found at the MD of Opportunity Facebook Page:
www.facebook.com/MD-of-Opportunity-No-17-Emergency-Management-1791455711074682/
Highway 754 from Highway 88 to Wabasca is closed.Highway 813 from Wabasca to Sandy Lake is closed.
For the most up to date information on road conditions visit www.511.alberta.ca
Weather
For Monday the temperature is forecasted to be 18 degrees. Winds are predicted to be northwest at 10 switching to southeast at 10 kilometres per hour for areas north of Lesser Slave Lake. Areas to the south of Lesser Slave Lake are predicted to have winds west at 15 kilometers per hour. The forecast is calling for a risk of widely scattered showers and thunderstorms later in the day.
A Fire Ban and OHV Restriction remains in effect for the northern portion of the Slave Lake Forest Area, areas north of Utikuma Lake, including Wabasca and areas north. To view a map of the Fire Ban/OHV restriction area visit www.albertafirebans.ca
• All open fires including campfires in campgrounds, back country and random camping areas and backyard fire pits.
• Charcoal briquettes, turkey fryers and tiki torches.
To view a fact sheet on the OHV restriction click here.
To view a fact sheet on the fire ban click here.
The Fire Ban and OHV Restriction has been lifted for southern parts of the Slave Lake Forest Area. The Town of Slave Lake, Town of High Prairie and Big Lakes County have also lifted their Fire Ban/OHV Restriction. To view a map of the Fire Ban/OHV restriction area visit www.albertafirebans.ca
Safe campfires are allowed. Never leave your campfire unattended and make sure it's extinguished.
Soak it with water, stir up the ashes and soak it again
When riding your off highway vehicle, stop frequently to remove the build up of debris from your muffler.
Fire permits are now being issued in southern parts of the Forest Protection Area in the Slave Lake Forest Area.
Call your local Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Office to request a fire permit.
-Slave Lake 780-849-7377
-High Prairie 780-523-6619
Leah Lovequist
Wildfire Information Officer
Mobile: 780-849-0945
Email:leah.lovequist@gov.ab.ca
Keep up to date on the wildfire situation by subscribing to the Slave Lake Forest Area Wildfire Update or download the free Alberta Wildfire app for Apple or Android devices.
