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.
To see where smoke is coming from, check out the FireSmoke website.
Hangingstone Provincial Recreation Area and Richardson Wildland Park are closed to the public.
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.
MCX002 - Cattail Complex
Wildfires MWF047 and MWF077 and MWF079 are part of the Cattail Lake Complex. Wildfires MWF047 and MWF077 are out of control and wildfire MWF079 is being held. All three wildfires were caused by lightning.
MWF047 – 104,619 hectares
The size has been revised down after more accurate information was received.
See the most recent map available.
Currently located:
- 6.8 km northeast of industrial facilities
- 53 km northeast of Fort McKay
- 68 km northeast of Fort McMurray
MWF077 – 17,962 hectares
The size has been revised down after more accurate information was received.
See the most recent map available.
Currently located:
- 6.7 km south of industrial facilities
- 46 km east of Fort McKay
- 48 km northeast of Fort McMurray
There are 233 personnel working on this complex, including 137 firefighters. There are 19 helicopters and 30 pieces of heavy equipment assigned to the complex. A new incident management team will be responsible for this complex as of tonight.
Increased fire activity was observed today, as expected. Although the fire grew in some areas, the containment lines held against strong winds. Crews will continue to work on strengthening the containment lines tomorrow, with the support of helicopters. This work will be focused on the southwest edge of MWF047 and the northwest edge of MWF077. Ground retardant was applied to power poles in the area today and this work will continue tomorrow.
Isolated thundershowers may bring trace amounts of rain tonight and winds are expected to shift again to come from the southwest at 10 to 15 km/h.
A high of 26C with a relative humidity of 35 per cent is expected tomorrow. Winds from the northeast at 10 to 15 km/h are forecasted. There is a 70 per cent chance of showers and thundershowers, with 5 to 10 mm of rain.
Strong winds led to increased fire activity on MWF047 today (July 23, 2024).
MCX003 - Algar Lake Complex
- MWF069 – classified as out of control - estimated at 17,127 hectares
- MWF086 – classified as out of control - estimated at 1,682 hectares
- LWF165 - classified as out of control – estimated at 1,750 hectares
There are 186 personnel from Alberta, New Brunswick, Ontario are assigned to the Algar Lake Complex. Additional fire management specialists from Australia also arrived today. Among the MCX003 team are firefighters, heavy equipment operators, a structure protection group supervisor, an ignition team, and a 15-person incident management team.
Ten helicopters and 30 pieces of heavy equipment are dedicated to MCX003.
MWF069 started on July 10 as a series of smaller lightning-caused fires that all merged into this larger fire. It is located 10 km west of Highway 63 and 40 km southwest of Fort McMurray.
Firefighters made good progress tying up the northeast corner of MWF069 and working in a northwestern direction from there. Helicopters bucketed water onto the eastern flank, actioning hot spots. Fire activity remained low to moderate today under windy conditions.
Heavy equipment teams are continuing to extend control lines north of the northeast corner of fire MWF069.
MWF086 is a lightning-caused fire that started on July 16. It is located 37 km southwest of Fort McMurray. Fire management specialists continue to monitor this fire, which is not causing any concerns at this time.
LWF165 started on July 17. It is located 20 km south of Crow Lake.
Monday night into Tuesday, fire activity caused traffic disruptions, as Alberta Transportation temporarily closed the highway in both directions due to the fire’s spread toward the west and across from the east side of Highway 63.
Today, heavy equipment worked to build control line around a portion of LWF165 which is located on the west side of the highway. They’ve made excellent progress and this work will continue tomorrow.
Firefighters worked with pumps and hose on the west side and east side of Highway 63 this afternoon, installing pumps and laying hose around the perimeter of the fire.
Helicopters bucketed onto hot spots, working to reduce the fire behaviour and smoke to prevent further impacts to Highway 63, which remains open since early Tuesday morning.
For up to date information about road conditions, visit 511 Alberta.
Wednesday’s forecast calls for a high of 24C with low relative humidity values of 50 per cent. Winds are expected to be northeasterly at 10-15 km/h. There is a 60 percent chance of precipitation overnight into Thursday, with 2-5 mm of rain in the forecast and a possibility of thunderstorms.
Infrared scanning is scheduled for this evening, pending conditions.
Crews worked on both sides of Highway 63 today to establish containment lines on LWF065 (July 23, 2024).
MCX004 - Rabbit Lake Complex
Wildfires MWF060, MWF074, and MWF078 are part of the Rabbit Lake Complex.
MWF060 is located about 36 km northeast of Chipewyan Lakes. It is estimated to be 20,219 ha in size. This wildfire is classified as out of control and was caused by lightning.
MWF074 is located northeast of MWF060. It is 186 ha in size and is classified as out of control. It was caused by lightning.
MWF078 is located about 25 km east of Chipewyan Lakes. It is 2,592 ha in size and is classified as out of control.
See the Slave Lake Forest Area update for more information.
A fire ban is in effect as of 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.
- 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.
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.
View more information on the fire ban for Urban Service Area of Fort McMurray.
For more information, visit Alberta Fire Bans.
See the forecasted fire danger map
FORT MCMURRAY WILDFIRE UPDATE
Since January 1, 2024 there have been 89 wildfires in the Fort McMurray Forest Area, burning a total of approximately 209,807.35 hectares (ha).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
For up-to-date information on the current wildfire situation, visit Alberta Wildfire Status.
SAFETY AROUND AIRCRAFT
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.
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, go to the Government of Alberta website.
For more information from Transport Canada about drones near wildfires, visit Transport Canada's website.
Always be cautious when recreating outdoors.
Off-highway vehicles (OHVs) have exhaust systems that get hotter than 200°C. At these temperatures, built-up materials (such as grass, muskeg, moss, or other debris) can heat up, smoulder and ignite.
These can fall to the ground as you are riding, starting a wildfire.
See OHV safety tips.
CONTACT:
Isabelle Chenard
Wildfire Information Officer | MCX003 Algar Lake Complex
Phone: 587-919-7419
Email: isabelle.chenard@ontario.ca
RELATED INFORMATION
- Alberta Wildfire
- Alberta Fire Bans
- FireSmart in Alberta
- Alberta Emergency Alerts
- Air Quality Health Index
- Wildfire Smoke and Your Health
- 511 Road Reports
- Emergency Preparation
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