Fort McMurray Area Update (45)

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, MWF056, MWF057 (now extinguished), MWF077 and MWF079. MWF056 is classified as being held and the rest are out of control. All of these wildfires 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 for MWF047.

Currently, MWF047 is approximately 6.8 km northeast of industrial facilities, about 53 km northeast of Fort McKay and 68 km northeast of Fort McMurray.

Yesterday, we saw extreme fire behaviour. Today, we expect to see similar extreme fire behaviour as we saw yesterday. Fire growth yesterday was mainly to the east, not towards any industrial facilities.

Last night, dozers worked overnight on creating a dozer guard towards containing a northwest portion of the wildfire. This dozer guard should be completed within the next day or so.

Today, crews, helicopters, and heavy equipment are again focused on holding the west side of this wildfire perimeter. We may have to pull crews off again today, if we experience fire behaviour in areas nearby where they're working. However, we continuously monitor the situation and are prepared to pull them out if necessary.

It is moderately smoky over this complex today, which may impact operations. So far, we have still been able to get crews on the line and start bucketing in key locations. We will continually reassess conditions and adjust accordingly.

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

Currently, MWF077 is approximately 6.8 km south of industrial facilities, about 46 km east of Fort McKay and 38 km northeast of Fort McMurray.

Yesterday was another challenging firefighting day on this complex. Fire behaviour was extreme and crews were pulled off the fireline for safety reasons. We had significant fire growth on this wildfire yesterday and expect similar growth today.

Helicopters will continue to bucket along the northern edge of this wildfire, as long as visibility permits. Most of the fire growth we saw yesterday was towards the east, same as 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. This also helps to take some pressure off of the airtankers, then airtankers can can focus on putting down retardant where a truck can't access.

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.

Today, the forecast predicts a high of 35 degrees Celsius and a low relative humidity of 15-20 per cent. Winds are expected to come out of the west-southwest at 10-15 km/h. 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.

(Crews identify a place for a helicopter to bucket, July 17, 2024)

Wildfire MCX003 - Algar Lake Complex

The Algar Lake Complex includes wildfires:

MWF069 – estimated at 15,000 hectares – classified as out of control
MWF086 – estimated at 500 hectares – classified as out of control

Hot and dry weather is forecast again for Thursday for much of the Fort McMurray Forest Area. As this weather trend is likely to persist through this week, the potential continues to build for extreme fire behaviour and fire spread.

Current perimeters posted on the Alberta Wildfire Dashboard do not yet reflect the latest growth on both of the above listed fires. Portions of the fire perimeters have spread, but with the current smoke conditions and low visibility, new perimeters remain to be updated.

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

Key areas where crews and heavy equipment had been working on the northeast corner have seen limited spread, which means that the easternmost portion of MWF069 has not progressed significantly toward highway 63 for the time being. Other uncontained areas of the fire perimeter were very active yesterday and did progress east toward highway 63. At this time, the most active areas are still over 10 km from the highway.

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 is likely to be again today.

A high of 33 degrees Celsius is expected for Thursday, with relative humidity values falling to 20%. Crossover conditions are forecast. West to Northwesterly winds at 10-15 for most of the day, becoming southwesterly near 8 pm, at 10 km/h. No precipitation is anticipated.

With a shift in wind direction today, the smoke generated by these wildfires is likely to be pushing toward the southeast for a good portion of the day. To keep an eye on smoke drift conditions, you can consult the interactive map at firesmoke.ca.

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 also dedicated to MCX003.

The safety of Albertans and of firefighting personnel is always top priority. With yesterday afternoon’s intensifying fire activity, firefighting personnel had to be pulled off the fireline out of an abundance of caution.

Today’s crew assignments on MWF069 will be to consolidate and retrieve firefighting equipment from key areas so that it can be repositioned based on newly set areas of priority. They will remain ready to respond, and strategically action any hotspots of concern in a safe manner, where required. Helicopters will provide aerial support in the form of bucketing and belly tanking where they can be most effective. With the current crossover conditions, burning conditions continue to be favorable for extreme fire behaviour.

The focus remains to limit fire spread to the east, toward the highway 63 corridor. It is possible that smoke conditions may impact the area of highway 63. Please drive according to the conditions and ensure your lights are turned on to ensure safe navigation if you notice smoke in the area.

(A view of the intensifying fire behaviour on the southern perimeter of MWF069, late Wednesday afternoon - July 17)

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 6 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.

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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 181,081 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.

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.

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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