Slave Lake Area Update

Wildland Firefighters from South Africa arrived today in the Slave Lake WMA

Posted on Tue, Jul 21, 2015

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Forty-nine wildland firefighters arrived in the Slave Lake wildfire management area today.  These highly trained and experienced wildland firefighters will assist the resources currently at Slave Lake wildfire number 163.  We will now have a collaboration of firefighters from Alberta, British Colombia, the United States, Australia, and South Africa working on this wildfire.

 

Wildfire Hazard

The Slave Lake Wildfire Management Area hazard is down to low, thanks to rainshowers and lower temperatures over the district.

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Wildfire Update as of 3:30 pm July 21, 2015

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Slave Lake Wildfire number 175 was a holdover lightning fire which was discovered on July 1st and is located 36 kilometers northeast of Peerless Lake and 33 kilometers west of Chipewyan Lakes.  This fire is currently out of control at 8386.1 hectares.  A helicopter with a bucket is dropping water on hotspots today.

SWF175_July_20Photo of SWF-175 from July 20, 2015

Slave Lake Wildfire number 163 which is located at approximately kilometer 25 on highway 754, 26 kilometers northeast of Marten Beach is now being held at 9,895 hectares.   Being held means, given current weather conditions and resources, the wildfire is not anticipated to grow past expected boundaries.  The dozer guard is complete.  11 helicopters with buckets continue to drop water on hot spots, and crews continue to work on the ground.  

Aerial_Burn_Lake_July17Photo of SWF-163

Slave Lake Wildfire number 140 was caused by lightning on June 30th and is located 60 kilometers north of Red Earth Creek.  This fire is currently being held at 1916 hectares.  Helicopters with buckets and firefighters are working on this fire today.

Slave Lake Wildfire number 211 is currently being held at 473.3 hectares.  This fire is located approximately 80 kilometers northwest of Red Earth Creek. Three dozer units are working on building a guard around this fire and full containment is almost complete.

Slave Lake Wildfire number 207 which located 46 kilometers northwest of Peerless Lake is now under control at 18 hectares, which means that this wildfire is completely contained and will be extinguished.

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Weather Forecast

The forecast for tomorrow the temperature will be around 20 degrees.  Winds to the north of Slave Lake will be from the west at 20 kilometers per hour. Winds to the south of Slave Lake will be from the northwest at 15 kilometers per hour.

Since April 1, in the Slave Lake Wildfire Management Area there have been 224 wildfires that have burned a total of 22,322.9  hectares.

 

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Fire Permits

The fire permit suspension has been lifted and new fire permits are being issued. However fire permits will not be issued for brush piles.Campfires are allowed and do not require a fire permit.

To request your free fire permit call your local Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Office.

Slave Lake/Red Earth/Peerless Lake/Trout Lake 780-849-7377

High Prairie 780-523-6619

Wabasca 780-891-3860

Fire permits help us track what is burning on the landscape. By getting a fire permit and following the fire permit conditions you help keep our firefighters free to fight new wildfires that may start.

 

Unless conditions change, you can expect your next wildfire update July 22st.

Shawna Lund - Wildfire Information Officer
Slave Lake Wildfire Management Area 
Office: 780.849.7412
Mobile: 780.849.0945 
Shawna.lund@gov.ab.ca 
To report wildfires call 310-FIRE
For information about wildfires in Alberta follow us on Twitter @ABGovWildfire or Facebook. Download the free Alberta Wildfire app for Apple and Android devices.