High Level Area Update

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

This update is best viewed on a web browser or the AB Wildfire Status App | View previous High Level Forest Area Updates. Bold indicates new or important information.

Alberta Wildfire personnel (left) discuss pending operations with new arrivals from Ontario, who are in the High Level Forest Area to assist with incident management and fire suppression efforts on the Semo and Amber River complexes (July 13, 2024).

A fire ban is in effect as of 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.

Fire crews load equipment and materials into a helicopter near HWF061, which is part of the Semo Wildfire Complex in the High Level Forest Area (July 13, 2024).

Tomorrow, the weather forecast is calling for temperatures of 25C with a relative humidity of 35 percent and winds out of the SW at 15-20 km/h. We expect temperatures to increase over the weekend, which will likely will influence fire behaviour. An early morning weather inversion is expected to keep smoke laying low in communities from nearby fires and will dissipate in the early afternoon. This is expected to happen again tomorrow morning with current predictions.

HWF053 is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL and is estimated to be 641 ha in size. The wildfire remains under investigation.

HWF061 is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL 21 km northeast of John D'Or Prairie, 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. The wildfire is now estimated to be 46,508 ha in size and caused by lightning.

There was fire activity reported this afternoon, but no significant runs were observed. There is still surface fire present, and firefighters will work to extinguish it as they build a containment line around the south perimeter. Heavy equipment is working on the SE side to build dozer guard and crews will support the operators by extinguishing hotspots as they travel the perimeter building more line.

Firefighters are finding deep hotspots and will need to use water and hand tools to dig them up and fully extinguish them. Operators on the west side have now started on the southwest perimeter and will work their way around the perimeter building guard. Additional dozer guards are being created for firefighters and equipment for safety when needed. Helicopters will continue to bucket along priority areas on the south and west perimeter, supporting ground crews. Extra retardant lines have been added north of highway 58 to support operations.

The structure protection unit that was called in to protect infrastructure in Garden River has completed their work and will continue to maintain their system in the community as a precaution. As a precaution measure, structure protection plans have also been created for Fox Lake and John D’Or Prairie.

HWF081 is OUT OF CONTROL at 41,794 ha. The wildfire was most active on the west side in the past days but has not made any significant runs. Firefighters and aircraft will monitor this fire and provide support when needed.

HWF083 is OUT OF CONTROL at 30,050 ha continues to grow under current conditions. At this time, no significant runs have been observed. 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 193 firefighters and support staff, ten helicopters and 38 pieces of heavy equipment assigned to the Semo Complex. Additional resources are on the way to support firefighting activities.

EVACUATION ALERTS AND ORDERS

Alberta Emergency Alert has stated that, Garden River is under an evacuation order. To find more details please visit https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-emergency-alert.aspx and open the more details tab.

You can also follow Little Red River Cree Nation’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/lrrcn or their website https://lrrcn.ab.ca/.

There will be information posted on the information board at the entrance of Horizon Camp in John D’or Prairie at 9:30 a.m. daily.

HCX002 - AMBER RIVER COMPLEX | HWF030, HWF072, BISTCHO LAKE

An incident management team is responsible for the personnel and resources assigned to the Amber River Complex and its six wildfires. There are currently 127 firefighters, 11 helicopters and eight pieces of heavy equipment working 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. No new growth has been observed. 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. This wildfire was determined to have been caused by lightning.

Airtankers are being used when conditions permit and as opportunities arise. Heavy equipment, which has been delayed by the difficulty in reaching this wildfire on the ground, will support aerial fire suppression activities and firefighters upon arrival. 

Two night-vision-equipped (NVIS) helicopters will conduct scans tonight along with some heli-bucketing in support of fire suppression efforts.

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, which is classified as OUT OF CONTROL.

The BISTCHO LAKE section of HTZ001, which is estimated to cover an area of 95,000 ha, is actively burning on the NE and SE sides of Bistcho Lake. Firefighters and heavy equipment are working to build containment lines to reduce the spread towards the east. Six helicopters are conducting bucketing on this wildfire and firefighters have set up some structure protection.

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. 

OTHER FIRES IN THE HIGH LEVEL FOREST AREA

HWF102 is now BEING HELD and is estimated to be 5,882 ha in size. The wildfire is located 34 km southeast of Tall Cree South and 38 km east of Wadlin Lake. The investigation found this fire to have been caused by lightning.

HWF121 is now BEING HELD and is estimated to be 506 ha. The wildfire is located 17 km east of highway 88 and 56 km south-southeast of Tall Cree South. The cause of the wildfire is under investigation.

HWF124 is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL and is estimated to be 20 ha. The wildfire is located 24 km northeast of Tall Cree South. Helicopters will continue to bucket and wildland firefighters are working on containing the wildfire. The cause of the wildfire is 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 is the modification of wildland fuels for the purpose of mitigating the potential intensities and impact of wildfire. 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 wildfire's 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