Fort McMurray Area Update (31)

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

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

Smoke may impact visibility and trigger highway closures with little notice. See 511 Alberta for the latest information on road closures.

To see where smoke is coming from, visit FireSmoke Canada.

On average, 67 per cent of wildfires are caused by humans. Everyone plays a role in preventing wildfires. Take the wildfire pledge to reduce wildfires and enter to win a helicopter tour!

MCX002 - Cattail Complex

Wildfires MWF047, MWF077, and MWF079 are part of the Cattail Lake Complex. All three wildfires were caused by lightning and are out of control.

This complex has 126 personnel, including 84 firefighters from Alberta and Australia. 14 helicopters are assigned to the complex. An Alberta Wildfire incident management team oversees operations.

MWF047 is 106,726 ha in size and is located 53km east of Fort McKay, 68km northeast of Fort McMurray, and 6km northeast of local industrial facilities.

See the most recent map of MWF047.

MWF077 is 17,814 ha in size and 38km northeast of Fort McMurray, 46km from Fort McKay, and 6.5 km from local industrial facilities.

MWF079 is 345 ha in size and is located near the Saskatchewan border.

Firefighters did not travel to the fire line on this complex yesterday due to localised low cloud coverage, making flying unsafe. Instead, they focused on repairs and planning for the improved working that we will see today and into the coming days.

Today, crews will re-enter the fire ground and continue to strengthen containment lines in the priority areas with the support of helicopters. Our ground crews will undertake this hard work using hand tools, pumps, and hoses, and their work will be focused on the southwest edge of MWF047 and the northwest edge of MWF077.

Today, the high was 25° C with winds south-southwesterly at 5 to 15km/h.

Some of the Alberta Wildfire crews assigned to the Cattail Complex. July 26, 2024

MCX003 - Algar Lake Complex

Wildfires MWF069, MWF086, and LWF165 make up the Algar Complex. Yesterday, all three of these fires were classified as being held.

106 personnel from Alberta and Australia are assigned to the Algar Lake Complex, as well as 11 helicopters and 20 pieces of heavy equipment. The MCX003 team includes firefighters, heavy equipment operators, and an incident management team from Alberta.

Conditions improved across the fire grounds yesterday, enabling fire crews to make progress on these fires.

Today, winds are expected to be south-southwesterly at 6-15 km/h, and the maximum temperature will be 25° C.

MWF069 started on July 10 as smaller lightning-caused fires merged into this more significant fire. It is located 10 km west of Highway 63 and 40 km southwest of Fort McMurray. It is 17183Ha in size.

Due to the rain in the area, firefighters couldn't access the fire yesterday. They were redeployed to assist crews working on LWF165.

Today, crews will work the fire's northeast corner, patrol the existing worked areas, and confirm that the fire is properly contained. They will then begin pulling the equipment out of the area, including pumps and hoses, and crews will reposition this equipment in other areas of the fire ground where it is needed.

Heavy equipment will continue to cut containment lines on the fire's east side, connecting this fire edge into historical burn areas for greater containment. These works will connect several existing wildfire burns with mechanical and other containment lines to buffer any fire spread to the east.

Aircraft will patrol the fire for bucketing targets, and we have further resources ready to respond when needed.

Structural protection crews continued to assess the situation and maintain the required systems. The community will see that some equipment has been removed from some locations.

MWF086 is a lightning-caused fire that started on July 16. It is located 37 km southwest of Fort McMurray and is reported as 2251.00 Ha in size.

Over the last three days, it has received 62mm of precipitation and is showing minimal fire behaviour. Fire crews are still actively monitoring conditions, and aircraft are in a position to undertake firefighting activities if required.

LWF165 started on July 17. It is located 20 km south of Crow Lake and it is reported as 1451.00 Ha in size

The west side of Hwy 63 has had control lines completed by heavy equipment backed up by firefighting crews and is now considered controlled. Crews continue to push east from the highway on the NE/SW flanks, creating helipads for access and extinguishing hotspots.

Aircraft will patrol the fire for any reoccurrence of fire activity.

For up-to-date information about road conditions, visit 511Alberta.

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Camp Algar from the air. Photo taken July 27, 2024.

MCX004 - Rabbit Lake Complex

Wildfires MWF060, MWF074, and MWF078 are part of the Rabbit Lake Complex and are classified as being held.

MWF060 is located about 36 km northeast of Chipewyan Lakes. It is estimated to be 20,219 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

MWF074 is located northeast of MWF060. It is 297 ha in size and was caused by lightning.

MWF078 is located about 25 km east of Chipewyan Lakes. It is 2,635 ha in size.

See the Slave Lake Forest Area update for more information.

FORT MCMURRAY FOREST AREA WILDFIRE UPDATE

There are currently 23 active wildfires in the Fort McMurray Forest Area. 4 are out of control, 14 are being held, and 5 are under control.

Since January 1, 2024, 92 wildfires have burned approximately 214,400 hectares (ha) in the Fort McMurray Forest Area.

MWF043 was discovered on July 3 and is approximately 22 km northwest of Bitumount. It is classified as out of control and is estimated to be 900 ha. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

MWF045 was discovered on July 2 and is 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 on 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.

MWF061 was discovered on July 7. It is approximately 110 km northeast of Fort Mc Kay and 13 km from the Birch Mountain Wildland Provincial Park. It is classified as being held and is estimated to be 40 ha in size. The cause of this wildfire is under investigation.

MWF063 was discovered on July 9 and is 60 km southwest of Camsell Portage (Saskatchewan Province) and 65 km northeast of Fort Chipewyan. It is classified as being held at 11,476 ha in size. This wildfire was caused by lightning.

MWF064 was discovered on July 9 and is located on Bustard Island, approximately 2km northwest of the Bushland Island remote forest recreational reserve. The island is 56 km northeast of Fort Chipewyan. It is classified as being held and is estimated to be 3.9 ha in size. The cause of this wildfire is under investigation.

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.

MWF080 was discovered on July 14 and is located in the area between Gipsy Lake, Garson Lake and the Alberta/ Saskatchewan border. It is classified as being held and is estimated to be 3,570 ha in size. The cause of this wildfire is under investigation.

MWF081 was discovered on July 16. It is located on Burntwood Island, 39km northeast of Fort Chipewyan. It is classified as being held and is estimated to be 779 ha in size. This wildfire was human-caused.

MWF090 was discovered on July 24 and is 12.5 km southeast of Anzac. It is classified as under control and is estimated to be 5.4 ha in size. 15 firefighters and 2 aircraft are working to strengthen the fire's containment.

MWF091 was discovered on July 25. It is located 10 km southwest of Fort Mc Murray and 27 km west of Gregorie Lake Estates. It is classified as being held and estimated to be 2 ha. Eight firefighters are working on this wildfire, supported by two helicopters.

Fire Ban banner

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.

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.

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 the Urban Service Area of Fort McMurray.

For more information, visit Alberta Fire Bans.

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See the latest fire danger maps.

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SAFETY AROUND AIRCRAFT

Depending on the location of a wildfire, firefighting aircraft such as airtankers and water bombers may need to use water from nearby lakes to help fight wildfires. Often, these aircraft arrive without advanced warning.

If you are in the water and see an aircraft coming in to collect water, please move within 30 m from the shore so these aircraft can safely resume firefighting efforts. Aircraft are large and require space to collect water, without interference from people and boats. Help us by staying out of the way when aircraft are around.

DRONES PROHIBITED

During firefighting operations, the restricted airspace around a wildfire includes a radius of approximately 9.26 km (5 nautical miles) and up to an altitude of 3,000 feet above ground level.

Flying a drone or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over or near a wildfire in Alberta endangers firefighting personnel and may cause firefighting operations to stop. These delays can cause the wildfire to grow larger and more intense without aircraft providing support from above.

See Transport Canada for more information about drones near wildfires.

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OHV SAFETY

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:

Damien Fear

Wildfire Information Officer | Fort McMurray Forest Area

Cell: 587 919 7419

Phone:780-743-7341

Email: damien.fear@rfs.nsw.gov.com.au

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