Fort McMurray Forest Area Wildfire Update

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

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

Hangingstone Provincial Recreation Area and Richardson Wildland Park have been closed to the public effective immediately.

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 MWF047, MWF077 and MWF079. All of these wildfires are classified as out of control and were caused by lightning.

There are 267 personnel currently working on this complex, including 148 firefighters, 68 incident management team members, support staff and contractors. We have 19 helicopters and 30 pieces of heavy equipment working this complex.

MWF047- estimated to be 101,219 ha in size. See the most recent map available.

Currently, MWF047 is approximately:

6.8 km northeast of industrial facilities.
53 km northeast of Fort McKay.
68 km northeast of Fort McMurray.

MWF077- estimated to be 15,206 ha in size. See the most recent map available.

Currently, MWF077 is approximately:

6.8 km south of industrial facilities.
46 km east of Fort McKay.
38 km northeast of Fort McMurray.

At the time of this update, this wildfire has not progressed towards industrial facilities.

Today, we did see some fire behaviour. However, heavy smoke helped to trap a bit of humidity, keeping fire behaviour lower in some areas. We are still expecting to see some fire growth.

Today, crews and helicopters were a bit delayed getting out to the fireline due to poor visibility. It is moderately smoky over this complex today, but once they got out they were again focused on holding the west side of this wildfire perimeter.

Tomorrow, with hopefully better visibility, firefighting and bucketing will continue on the northwest corner of MWF077 and on the southwest portion of MWF047.

Today, we again had a retardant application truck put down lines of retardant. This vehicle can spray retardant into the ditch or on the ground near power poles and is an effective way to add more retardant in key locations in a more precise way than with airtankers.

The forecast is predicting conditions conducive to extreme fire behaviour for the next few days. This means we can expect some significant fire growth. The forecast for the next few days predict that we will have very challenging firefighting days ahead of us.

Tomorrow, the forecast predicts a high of 36 degrees Celsius and a low relative humidity of 20 per cent. Winds are expected to come out of the northwest at 10-15 km/h, switching to northeast at 10-15 km/h in the afternoon. No chance of rain in the forecast.

We have ignition plans prepared in the event we need to use them. This is only done during ideal conditions and under the watchful eye of experienced wildfire managers. These operations are supported by helicopter bucketing operations.

(The heavy smoke helped to keep fire activity lower today, July 18, 2024)

Wildfire MCX003 - Algar Lake Complex

MWF086 – size updated to 1195 hectares – classified as out of control
MWF069 – size updated to 15,235 hectares – classified as out of control

Extremely hot and dry weather will the Fort McMurray Forest Area again on Friday, and likely into the weekend. With temperatures continuing to soar over 30 degrees, and relative humidity values remaining in the 20% range, extreme fire behaviour and fire spread are possible.

MWF086 is a lightning-caused fire that started on July 16. Located north of MWF069, this fire is not causing any immediate concerns. It was very active yesterday and again today.

MWF069 started on July 10 as a series of smaller lightning-caused fires that all merged into this larger fire. It is located approximately:

10 km west of Highway 63
40 km southwest of Fort McMurray

A high of 35 degrees Celsius is expected for Friday, with low relative humidity values dipping to 20%. There is a high probability of crossover conditions. Northeasterly to easterly winds at 10-15 km/h are anticipated.

Under the influence of tomorrow’s forecast winds, the fire should be pushing generally southwesterly to westerly, away from highway 63, Fort McMurray and surrounding areas.

(An evening view of the smoke from fires on the Algar Lake Complex taken on Wednesday evening, by a member of the team heading back to base camp)

There are 179 personnel from Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario assigned to the Algar Lake Complex. Among them are forest firefighters, heavy equipment operators, structure protection staff, an ignition team, and a 15-person incident management team.

Seven helicopters and eleven pieces of heavy equipment are dedicated to MCX003.

An ignition team continues to identify opportunities for tying strategically identified sections of the fire into natural boundaries. Some established ignition plans have been approved. They are ready to be put into operation if needed. Planned controlled ignition operations are always completed under the supervision of fire management specialists, and require the right weather and fire behaviour conditions.

The safety of Albertans and of firefighting personnel is always top priority.

Today, the fire crews consolidated and retrieved firefighting equipment from key areas. This equipment is ready to be repositioned based on areas of priority. Bucketing helicopters and belly tankers actioned hot spots on the fire, notably on the north side of the northeast corner, where fire MWF069 did take on some growth on Wednesday afternoon.

The focus remains to limit fire spread to the east, toward the highway 63 corridor and to keep the fire on the west side of the highway.

Download the 511 app to stay up to date on any road closures in Alberta. This wildfire could impact visibility on Highway 63, always drive with extreme caution.

MCX004 - Rabbit Lake Complex

MWF060, MWF078, and MWF074)

MWF060 is located approximately 5 km east of the Slave Lake Forest Area border and the Fort McMurray Forest Area border. It is also and estimated to be 13,000 ha in size. This wildfire is classified as out of control and was caused by lightning.

MWF074 is located northeast of MWF060, is 400 ha in size and is classified as out of control.

MWF078 is located southwest of MWF060, is 1,600 ha in size, and is classified as out of control.

Currently, we have four firefighters and two helicopters working on this complex.

Yesterday, MWF060 showed extreme fire behaviour. This was due to hot and dry weather conditions. We expect extreme fire behaviour today as well.

Structure protection is planned to be set up on some nearby infrastructure. More resources have been requested for this complex.

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.

Fire-Danger-Map-July-19

See the forecasted fire danger map

FORT MCMURRAY WILDFIRE UPDATE

Since January 1, 2024 there have been 88 wildfires in the Fort McMurray Forest Area, burning a total of approximately 182,011 hectares (ha).

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 out of control and is estimated to be 900 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.

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 2,300 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 400 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.

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 under control and is estimated to be 6 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

MWF067 was discovered on July 10 and is located approximately 4 km southwest of Gregoire Lake 176. It is classified as under control and is currently 0.3 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

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

SAFETY AROUND SKIMMERS (Water Bombers)

If you're planning to be out on the lake this weekend, please keep in mind that skimmer planes are often using various lakes to refill with water.

This is another critical resource for firefighting operations, so we ask anyone on water bodies to stay alert and watch out for skimmers. If you see a skimmer coming towards a water body, ensure you get within 30 metres of shore so they can safely refill.

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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.

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