Wildfire Hazard
Warm, dry conditions over the weekend have increased the wildfire hazard to MODERATE for the Whitecourt Wildfire Management Area (WWMA).
The lack of rain over the last few months has dried the forest. If a wildfire starts, it will burn deep into the ground and takes a lot of work to put out. Please do your part; be careful to not start a wildfire while working or recreating in the forest.
Weather
We will reach a high of 23 degrees Celsius today for the Whitecourt WMA. The wind direction will be south east at 20 kilometres per hour, gusting up to 35 kilometres in the afternoon; rain showers are expected.
Thunderstorm activity is expected to continue, bringing small amounts of rain. The risk of of lightning started wildfires remains high. Please report wildfires by calling 310-FIRE (3473).
Local Wildfires (July 20, 2015 @ 11:00am)
In the last 24 hours, there have been no new wildfiresin the Whitecourt WMA. There are three on-going wildfires that are under control; meaning no further spread of the wildfires are expected. Here are the details:
- Whitecourt Wildfire (WWF) number 045 started July 1, 2015 and is under control at 32.38 hectares in size, it has not grown since July 2. It is 11 kilometres south of the town of Swan Hills, east of Highway 32. The wildfire area is being montiored by firefighters, they are looking for smoldering areas and will work to extinguish them.
- WWF 050 is under control at 0.42 hectares in size, it is located 30 kilometres north east of the town of Fox Creek.
- WWF 051 is under control at 0.38 hectares in size. Located 3 kilometres west of Freeman Lake; over 10 kilometres west of the town of Swan Hills.
Image: Looking at WWF 050 looks like today. Notice the black ring surrounding the wildfire
area. This is fire gaurd; our crews are now going back in to do reclamation.
Provincial Wildfires (July 18, 2015 @ 11:00am)
In the last 24 hours there have been three new wildfires. Alberta currently has 90 wildfires. Eleven are out of control, 30 are being held and 49 are under control. Two wildfire have been extinguished within the last 24 hours.
Since April 1, 2015, Alberta has recorded 1,446 wildfires that have burned a total of 489,918 hecateres. For more infromation,please visit our wildfire status map on our website at www.wildfire.alberta.ca. Or you can download the Alberta Wildfire App for android or apple products.
Fire Permits
BEFORE YOU BURN IT, GET YOUR PERMIT
If you want to do any burning, excluding campfires within the Forest Protection Area (FPA); you need to get a fire permit:
- Fire permits are free. To get the process started call 780-778-7272.
- 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.
- Fore efficiency, please have your site ready according to the burning site guidelines. before staff arrive. For your safety, a site visit is required in most cases.
- All permits must be completely extinguished before they expire, if you need more information make sure to ask.
Alberta Fire Bans
The Whitecourt Wildfire Management Area does not have a fire ban, restriction or advisory in place. This means in most parts of the Whitecourt WMA, safe campfires and burning are allowed at this time.
Other management areas within the Forest Protection Area (FPA) and some municipalities (including towns, summer villages, counties or provincial parks) have maintained their fire advisory, restriction or ban. Please visit www.albertafirebans.ca to ensure that there is not a fire ban or restriction in your area before burning.
How Can You Help?
Off-highway vehicles can start wildfires. While riding, stop frequently to check your vehicle for the build up of grass, branches or other debris. Safely remove the debris from your machine. This material can catch fire and drop from your vehicle as you drive; acting like a drip-torch it can start a wildfire. Learn more here.
