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.

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 are expected in the coming days.

A firefighter sprays foam on a deep hotspot within the Semo Wildfire Complex (July 14, 2024)

Tomorrow, the weather forecast is calling for temperatures of 26C with a relative humidity of 30% with winds out of the south-southwest at 20 km/h. We expect temperatures to increase into the week and this will influence fire behaviour. An early morning weather inversion is expected tomorrow, and it will keep smoke laying low in communities from nearby fires and will dissipate in the early afternoon.

A smoke column started to develop this afternoon and may be visible to residents in nearby communities. This fire behaviour is expected this week with rising temperatures and forest fuels drying out.

HWF053 is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL and is estimated to be 691 ha in size. The wildfire remains under investigation.

HWF061 is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL 20 km northeast of Jon D'or Prairie, 19 km north of Fox Lake and 30 km northwest of Garden River. The closest part of the wildfire is approximately 9 km to highway 58. Due to a more accurate scan of the fire, distances have been updated. The wildfire is now estimated to be 43,995 ha in size and caused by lightning.

There was fire activity observed along the west and north side in the late afternoon. The fire activity will get more intense as we move into a drying trend. Firefighters continue to build containment lines around the south perimeter. Heavy equipment is working on the southeast 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 perimeter will work their way around the perimeter building guard. Airtankers were called in to support the west side this afternoon as the fire behaviour picked-up. Heavy helicopters are working on the southeast assisting ground crews to prevent spread. 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, structure protection plans have been created for Fox Lake and John D’Or Prairie.

HWF081 is OUT OF CONTROL at 42,999 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 30,046 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 212 firefighters and support staff, 11 helicopters and 43 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/.

Updates will also be posted on the information board at the entrance to Horizon Camp in John D’or Prairie each day at 9:30 a.m.

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 personnel, 11 helicopters and 11 pieces of heavy equipment working on the wildfires within the Amber Complex. The wildfires in this complex do not currently threaten any communities.

The Amber Lookout Tower, one of many across the High Level Forest Area, is used by observers to detect, and respond to, new wildfires as quickly as possible (July 14, 2024). Other forest areas across Alberta also use lookout towers for quick detection and response.

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 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.

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 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 aerial bucketing continued to make good progression along the west side of the fire today. Although the eastern and northern sides of the fire are seeing minimal fire behaviour, smoke may impact ground and aerial crews’ ability to action this wildfire at times.

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.

HWF030 is UNDER CONTROL and is estimated to cover an area 3,200 ha in size. The cause of this fire is under investigation. This wildfire received aerial fire suppression today.

HWF065 is burning OUT OF CONTROL and is estimated to cover an area 2,490 ha in size. This wildfire is seeing increased fire activity on the northeast side of the fire. The cause of this fire was lightning.

HWF072 is burning OUT OF CONTROL and is estimated to cover an area 3,700 ha in size. Some new growth was observed Saturday. Aerial suppression efforts will continue throughout the day on Sunday and crews are progressing well on the ground. 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.

HWF074 was called EXTINGUISHED on July 3, 2024, at a size of 1 ha. This wildfire was determined to have been caused by lightning.

HWF075 is UNDER CONTROL and is estimated to cover an area 3 ha in size. This wildfire was determined to have been caused by lightning.

OTHER FIRES IN THE HIGH LEVEL FOREST AREA

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