High Level Area Update

If you see smoke or flame in the forest and suspect it's a wildfire, call 310-FIRE (3473) immediately.

 A firefighter works to control flames north of the town of High Level (July 9, 2024)

EVACUATION ALERTS AND ORDERS

Garden River is under an evacuation order as of 12:00 p.m. today July 10, 2024. For any information related to evacuations please visit Alberta Emergency Alert webpage or download the app.

You can also follow Little Red River Cree Nation’s Facebook page or their website. 

A fire restriction is in place for the High Level and Fort McMurray Forest Areas.

Under this restriction:

• Existing fire permits are restricted, suspended or cancelled and no new fire permits will be issued.
• Safe wood campfires within fire rings in campgrounds are allowed.

Prohibited on public lands, including backcountry and random camping areas:

• All outdoor wood fires.
• Fires fueled exclusively by charcoal briquettes.
• The use of fireworks and exploding targets.

Allowed in designated campgrounds on private and public land, designated day use areas and on privately owned land:

• Safe wood campfires.
• Backyard fire pits, charcoal briquette barbeques.
• Propane/ natural gas-powered appliances CSA approved or UL certified.

HCX001 - SEMO WILDFIRE COMPLEX | HWF053, HWF061, HWF081, HWF083

The Semo Wildfire Complex is located north of John D'Or Prairie, Garden River and Fox Lake. It includes the Caribou Mountains P.P, between the Ponton and the Wentzel River. This wildfire is currently being overseen by an incident management team. Additional resources have been requested and will be arriving in the coming days.

Firefighters receive an early-morning safety briefing at a Semo Wildfire Complex (July 10, 2024).

Expand (click) to view the full public map of the Semo wildfire complex.

INFORMATION STATIONS

  *Due to current smoke conditions, the previously scheduled events in Fox Lake and Garden River have been postponed.

Today, the weather forecast is calling for temperatures of 31C with a relative humidity of 25% and winds out of the east-northeast at 10-15 km/h, gusting 25 km/h with southeast winds at 5-10 km/h after midnight. There is a heat warning as well as an extreme fire behaviour risk for today. This means that high intensity and very fast-moving spread will be expected with certain conditions. It will be a challenging day for firefighters and equipment on the line.

HWF053 is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL and is estimated to be 547 ha in size. The wildfire remains under investigation.

HWF061 is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL 21 km northeast of Jon D'or, 17 km north of Fox Lake and 30 km northwest of Garden River. The closest part of the wildfire is approximately 8 km to highway 58. We’re now measuring from the northeast corner of the community boundary line to the closest fire perimeter so you will see adjustments moving forward. Keep in mind that even though the fire is over 30 km away from Garden River the fire is 12 km from highway 58 and that will impact egress for the community of Garden River. The measurement from the fire perimeter to the closest point on highway 58 is what is most important for the area of Garden River.

The wildfire is growing with the significant heat wave over the last few days. Rising temperatures will play a large factor in wildfire spread. The wildfire is now estimated to be 39,955 ha in size and caused by lightning. Heavy equipment operators continue both day and night to the south perimeter of the fire to gain better access. Heavy equipment is working on the east side to build a safe zone for crews while operators on the west side are building extra dozer guard lines. Additional dozer guards are created for firefighters and equipment for safety.

Helicopters will continue to bucket along priority areas when the smoke allows them too. Night vision helicopters will be utilized overnight and worked on the east side. There was some spread throughout the whole fire but spread is mostly on the north and south perimeter overnight. Crews are travelling by equipment this morning to access the south perimeter to start building containment lines if they can do so safely. A weather inversion is keeping smoke low on the fire and it’s making it difficult for access.

There can be larger smoke columns visible from communities. These smoke columns are likely to happen more frequently today and in the coming days and are expected as hot, dry, windy conditions persist.

HWF081 is OUT OF CONTROL at 32,993 ha. When firefighters are safe to do so, they will work the northwest edge of the perimeter to secure containment lines. This fire is challenging due to the high intensity of the fire, but crews are determined to gain ground, it will just take some time. Firefighters are being supported by helicopters that will bucket on priority areas.

HWF083 is OUT OF CONTROL at 26,568 ha continues to grow under dry conditions. Firefighters will continue to monitor this wildfire and provide support when needed. All of these wildfires are within the Caribou Mountain Wildland P.P. and have been determined to be caused by lightning. These wildfires are located approximately 35-40 km north of John D'Or Prairie.

There are 119 firefighters and support staff, eight helicopters and 18 pieces of heavy equipment assigned to the Semo Complex. Additional resources are on the way to support firefighting activities.

HCX002 - AMBER RIVER COMPLEX | HWF030, HWF072, HWF075, HWF076, HWF089, HWF101

An incident management team is in command of the personnel and resources assigned to the Amber River Complex and its six wildfires. There are currently 102 firefighters, nine helicopters and eight pieces of heavy equipment engaged on the wildfires within the Amber Complex. The wildfires in this complex do not currently threaten any communities.

HWF072 is burning OUT OF CONTROL and is now estimated to cover an area 3,700 ha in size after moderate growth overnight. This wildfire, which is approximately 78 km northwest of Chateh and about 60 km west of Zama City, does not currently pose a threat to any communities. The investigation found this wildfire to have been caused by lightning.

Airtankers are being used, when available, when conditions permit and as opportunities arise. Heavy equipment, which has been delayed by the difficulty in reaching this wildfire on the ground, is expected to arrive on scene by Friday. Once there, heavy equipment operators will support aerial fire suppression activities, and those of firefighters on the ground.  

Aircraft engagement for reconnaissance and bucketing operations has been limited, however, due to smoke and visibility issues, which has also led to reduced on-the-ground firefighter activity at times.

HWF047 (Melvin River), which is approximately 40 km north-northeast of the town of High Level and 25 km east of Highway 35, is now BEING HELD. The wildfire is now estimated to cover 1,410 ha after a relatively small amount of growth overnight. The wildfire does not currently pose a threat to any communities and its cause remains under investigation.

To view these and other wildfires in the province, view our interactive map by following the active wildfire link. 

HTZ001 is a mutual aid wildfire that originated in the border zone with the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.) in 2023. The Alberta portion of this fire, south of the border, is now classified as BEING HELD, which means that the wildfire is not expected to grow past its current boundaries.

Increased wildfire activity was observed today, northeast of Bistcho Lake, with some growth to the south and east.  

Firefighters are using natural breaks and airtankers to build containment line in hopes to reduce the spread towards the east. 

This recent burn within the High Level Forest Area covers an estimated 30,520 hectares ha. Please see NWT Wildfire Update Map and the South Slave SS009-24 Update for more information on their activities and wildfire status in the N.W.T. area. 

This wildfire may cause highway closures, visit Alberta 511 or download the app for up-to-date information. 

FireSmart is a national program that helps Canadians increase their resilience to wildfire. Whether you are a homeowner, resident, business, local government, or Indigenous community, you can take small steps with lasting impacts.

Vegetation management, broadly speaking, is the modification of wildland fuels (vegetation that can contribute to wildfire is known simply as ‘fuel’) for the purpose of mitigating the potential intensities and impact of wildfire. Intuitively vegetation management as a strategy for reducing wildfire hazard makes a lot of sense: wildfire requires fuel, in the form of vegetation, to burn; if we can change the fuel, we can change the wildfires behaviour. For suggestions on landscaping tips, you can view the FireSmart Guide to Landscaping. 

To learn more on how you can protect your home, visit FireSmart Alberta. For farm or acreages, you can download the Farm and Acreage FireSmart magazine.

WILDFIRE INFORMATION