High Level Area Update

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

EVACUATION ALERTS AND ORDERS

Garden River is under an evacuation order as of 12:00 p.m. today, July 10, 2024. For further 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 ban is in effect as of 4 p.m. on July 10 in the entire Forest Protection Area of Alberta, including the High Level 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.

Visit Alberta Fire Bans to see if a fire ban or restriction is in place in your area.

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.

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.

Garden River is under an evacuation order as of 12:00 p.m. today July 10, 2024. 

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

INFORMATION STATIONS

Join us at the information station at the Horizon Camp in John D’or Prairie tomorrow (Thursday, July 11) from 11:30-1:00.

Tomorrow, the weather forecast is calling for temperatures of 24C with a relative humidity of 40% with winds out of the southeast at 15-20 km/h gusting 30-40 km/h switching to west-southwest 20-25 km/h winds gusting 40-45 km/h near noon. There is an extreme fire behaviour risk for tomorrow. 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 612 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. 

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 41,088 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 containment lines and crews will support the operators by extinguishing hotspots. While operators on the west side are building additional dozer guard. Additional dozer guards are created for firefighters and equipment for safety.

Helicopters will continue to bucket along priority areas along the south perimeter due to increased fire activity when smoke allows. Firefighters will begin actioning the fire tomorrow on the southeast side of the fire. A weather inversion is keeping smoke low on the fire and it’s making it difficult for access. Air tankers will support the south perimeter tomorrow if they can be used effectively.

A smoke column is expected to appear this evening. Due to the weather inversion lifting from the area. This allows for evening sun and clear skies creating fire behaviour. These columns will be visible from communities. Smoke columns will happen more frequently today and in the coming days and are expected as hot, dry, windy conditions persist.

HWF081 is OUT OF CONTROL at 33,066 ha. The wildfire is most active on the southwest side. Firefighters and aircraft will monitor this fire and provide support when needed.

HWF083 is OUT OF CONTROL at 28,440 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 139 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 110 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.

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.

BISTCHO LAKE section of HTZ001 is actively burning on the northeast and southeast of Bistcho Lake. 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. 

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.  

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