Fort McMurray Forest Area Wildfire Update

The wildfire danger level is extreme in the Fort McMurray Forest Area.

A fire ban is in effect for the entire Fort McMurray Forest Area.

A lightning storm came through the Fort McMurray Area last night that caused a number of new wildfires. Exercise extreme caution when recreating outdoors.

67% of wildfires are human-caused, everyone plays a role in preventing wildfires. Take the wildfire pledge to reduce wildfires and be entered to win a helicopter tour! Go to alberta.ca/wildfire-pledge.

Wildfire MCX002 - Cattail Complex

There are several wildfires that are all being managed together under MCX002. This includes MWF046, MWF047, MWF048, MWF051 and MWF054. All of these wildfires are classified as under control, except for MWF047 and MWF077. All of these wildfires were caused by lightning.

Today, MWF077 has been added to this complex. It was discovered today and is classified as out of control. Currently, it is estimated to be 100 ha in size. This wildfire has been showing extreme fire behaviour today and we anticipate significant growth.

MWF047 is the largest wildfire that's included in this complex and is classified as out of control. After smoke cleared and provided a more accurate measurement, it is estimated to be 26,437 ha in size This wildfire has also showed extreme fire behaviour today and we anticipate significant growth towards the east-northeast, away from industrial facilities.

At this time, this wildfire is approximately 8 km northeast of industrial facilities, about 50 km northeast of Fort McKay and 70 km northeast of Fort McMurray.

There are 241 personnel currently working on this complex; including 134 firefighters, 26 incident management team members and support staff, and the rest include contractors and pilots. We have 18 helicopters and 16 pieces of heavy equipment working this wildfire.

Helicopters continue to move crews to strategic locations along the perimeter and also continue to complete bucketing operations on hotspots identified by crews. Crews have been pulled off the southeast portion of the wildfire that had extreme fire activity. Since winds are coming from the west, crews working on the west and southwest perimeters have so far been able to keep working.

Tomorrow, we expect a high of 20 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 35 per cent. Winds again will be out of the west at 25 km/h, gusting up to 45 km/h. Winds are expected to decrease around 5 PM to approximately 20 km/h, gusting up to 30 km/h. There's a 20 per cent chance of thundershowers, however; only 1-2 mm is predicted. If we receive this rain, it will make minimal impact on the wildfire.

Tomorrow, crossover conditions are not predicted, however strong winds will likely lead to some fire growth.

A scan was completed last night and identified fire growth and hotspots. These scans are crucial for prioritizing resources to the parts of the wildfire that require it most.

See the most recent map available.

(Extreme fire behaviour has been witnessed on MWF047 and MWF077, driven by strong gusting winds, July 11, 2024)

Algar Lake Complex

All of the wildfires in this complex were discovered yesterday, were caused by lightning and are classified as out of control. They are all within close proximity of each other and are all located approximately 22 km southwest of MWF017 and approximately 52 km southwest of Fort McMurray. This wildfire is approximately 15 km west of Highway 63.

Today, extreme fire behaviour was witnessed on this complex and we anticipate significant growth. This complex has created a large smoke column which is visible in Fort McMurray.

With winds coming from the west, it is currently pushing this wildfire towards the east, which is not towards Fort McMurray.

Currently, we have 17 firefighters, with more on the way to work on these wildfires. We also have five helicopters working on bucketing operations. We have requested more resources for this complex.

We are utilizing a structure protection team for infrastructure nearby the complex.

We are working with local authorities to evacuate people out of nearby areas. At this time, Fort McMurray is not being impacted by this complex.

Below are the estimated sizes of each wildfire within this complex.

MWF066- Estimated to be 173 ha in size.

MWF069- Estimated to be 598 ha in size.

MWF070- Estimated to be 60 ha in size.

MWF071- Estimated to be 224 ha in size.

MWF072- Estimated to be 0.02 ha in size.

MWF073- Estimated to be 140 ha in size.

MWF075- Estimated to be 0.01 ha in size.

WILDFIRE SAFETY MESSAGES

DANGEROUS TREES | Be extra cautious near burnt areas and avoid forested areas that have been recently affected by wildfire. Hazards remain from deep ash pits, burning peat and falling trees or branches, especially if windy.

SMOKE | Lingering smoke may still be visible in some areas and in affected communities. Smoke inversions can trap air near the ground causing dangerous driving conditions and poor air quality. Please use extra caution when driving in smoky conditions. To see forecasted smoke, please visit FireSmoke.ca. If you have smoke related health concerns, please visit or contact Alberta 811.

DRONES | The use of recreational drones over wildfires in Alberta is dangerous, illegal and could result in an automatic court appearance for putting aircraft and people at risk. Please give firefighters the space they need to do their jobs safely. *Transport Canada.

Fire Ban banner

A fire ban is in effect as of 4 p.m. on July 10 in the entire Forest Protection Area of Alberta, including the Fort McMurray Forest Area, due to hot and dry conditions.

Cities, towns, villages and summer villages, as well as federal lands (such as national parks), are exempt from this ban. These jurisdictions have the authority to issue their own bans and may have complementary bans in place.

Under this fire ban:

All fire permits are suspended or cancelled.
No new fire permits will be issued.
Some allowances can be made for essential agricultural and industrial burning, if approved by a forest officer.

Prohibited:

All outdoor wood fires, including wood campfires on public land, private land, designated campgrounds, and backyard firepits
Barbeque charcoal briquettes
Fireworks and exploding targets

Allowed:

Propane/natural gas-powered appliances
Indoor wood fires inside a structure (such as a facility, building, tent or RV) and contained within a device with a chimney and spark arrestor
Open flame oil devices (such as deep fryers and tiki torches). All devices must be CSA approved and used per manufacturer’s standards.

We want to remind everyone that along with the rest of the forest area, there should be absolutely no wood campfires, charcoal barbeque, fireworks, or exploding targets in the Richardson backcountry. Conditions are very dry and hot and we want to reduce the chance of new wildfires starting.

If you see a wildfire, report it immediately by calling 310-FIRE.

The fire ban will remain in effect until conditions improve.

See the fire ban factsheet.

More information on the fire ban for Fort McMurray's Urban Service Area

For more information, visit Alberta Fire Bans.

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See the forecasted fire danger map

FORT MCMURRAY WILDFIRE UPDATE

Since January 1, 2024 there have been 77 wildfires in the Fort McMurray Forest Area, burning a total of approximately 63,435 hectares (ha).

MWF077 was discovered today and is located approximately 42 km east-southeast of Fort McKay and is 42 km northeast of Fort McMurray. It is classified as out of control and is estimated to be 100 ha in size.

MWF065 was discovered July 9 and is located approximately 7 km southeast of Highway 63 and approximately 3.4 km from Maqua Lake. It is classified as out of control and is estimated to be 6 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning. Today, we have 17 firefighters and two helicopter working on this wildfire.

MWF060 (Rabbit Lake Wildfire) was discovered July 5 and is located approximately 8 km east of the Slave Lake Forest Area border and the Fort McMurray Forest Area border. It is classified as out of control and is estimated to be 4750 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning. Currently, we have 20 firefighters and five helicopters working on this wildfire.

MWF067 was discovered on July 10 and is located approximately 4 km southwest of Gregoire Lake 176. It is classified as being held and is currently 0.2 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

MWF068 was discovered on July 10 and is located approximately 4.5 km east of the High Level Forest Area border and 13 km north of the Slave Lake Forest Area border. It is classified as being held and is estimated to be 100 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

MWF043 was discovered on July 2 and is located approximately 18 km west of the Athabasca River and 56 km south of the southern Wood Buffalo National Park border. It is classified as being held and is estimated to be 32 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

MWF045 was discovered on July 2 and is located approximately 23 km south of the Wood Buffalo National Park border. It is classified as being held and is estimated to be 2300 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

MWF056 was discovered July 3 and is located approximately 41 km north of the cattail complex (MCX002). It is classified as being held and is estimated to be 29 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

MWF057 was discovered July 3 and is located approximately 65 km east of Fort McKay and approximately 70 km northeast of Fort McMurray. It is classified as being held and is estimated to be 13.8 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

MWF010 was discovered on April 21 and is located near the Birch Mountains. It is classified as under control at 7,976 ha in size. This means that this wildfire is contained and will be extinguished. This wildfire was human-caused.

MWF017 was discovered on May 9 and is located southwest of Fort McMurray. It is classified as under control at 18,593 ha. This means that this wildfire is contained and will be extinguished. The cause of this wildfire remains under investigation.

For up-to-date information on the current wildfire situation, visit Alberta Wildfire Status.

DRONES are not allowed to be flown within 5 nautical miles (or 9.3 kilometers) of a wildfire.

If you fly a drone within this distance of a wildfire, it immediately halts firefighting operations because it is not safe to be flying with drones in the air. The penalty for interfering with wildfire control operations can land you a court appearance, for more information go to the Government of Alberta website.
For more information from Transport Canada about drones near wildfires, visit Transport Canada's website.

310-FIRE flames trees

Over the past few days, we have had more than 20 new wildfire starts and most of them were caused by lightning.

Now that we are experiencing more lightning, this is a good reminder of how essential it is for everyone to report any wildfires they see in the forest to 310-FIRE.

The sooner a potential wildfire is reported, the sooner we can get a crew out to assess and start working on it and send more resources if required. This is critical for ensuring an efficient response to any wildfires that start.

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