A fire ban remains in effect for the forest protection area of Alberta, including the High Level Forest Area.
The forest area may experience heavy smoke over communities at times. Contact 811 for wildfire and smoke-related health concerns.
If you see smoke or flame and suspect it's a wildfire, call 310-FIRE (3473).
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.
Firefighters lay hose along a containment line on the Semo Wildfire Complex (July 23, 2024)
HIGH LEVEL FOREST AREA | WILDFIRE SITUATION
The wildfire danger in the High Level Forest Area is EXTREME. This means that forest fuels are extremely dry and pose a serious fire risk. Fast-spreading, high-intensity fires are likely, which are very difficult to contain and control.
There are currently 40 wildfires burning in the High Level Forest Area. Of these, 14 are out of control, 11 are being held, and 15 are classified as under control. Two of these wildfires are carry-over fires from the 2023 season. There are also two wildfires along borders: one shared with B.C. and one with the N.W.T.
Since January 1, 2024, there have been 146 wildfires in the High Level Forest Area, burning a total of 264,031 hectares (ha).
NASA FIRMS Fire Information website is a great resource to give an approximate location of hotspots in an area, but cannot always be used to determine specifically where a wildfire is burning. The heat from smoke columns, reflections from water and other heat signatures will appear on the map. It's important to note that the data is based on a mathematical estimate (interpolation) and can often make a wildfire appear larger than it actually is.
You can view the location and statistics of these wildfires on our interactive map by following the active wildfire link. Visit our website to learn more about wildfire classifications.
HIGH LEVEL FOREST AREA | ACTIVE WILDFIRES OF INTEREST
WEATHER FORECAST
Tomorrow, a high of 22C is expected, along with a relative humidity (RH) of 40 percent and winds from the SW and SE at 10 km/h. There is a low-to-moderate chance of some precipitation.
HCX001 – SEMO COMPLEX (HWF053, HWF061, HWF081, HWF083, HWF136, HWF141)
The Semo Wildfire Complex is located north of John D'Or Prairie, Garden River and Fox Lake. A few of the wildfires in this complex are located within Caribou Mountains Provincial Park, between the Ponton and the Wentzel River. An incident management team is in place on this wildfire complex, and response efforts of Alberta crews (including those from the Little Red River Cree Nation) are being aided by firefighters from Alaska, Ontario, P.E.I. and New Brunswick.
EVACUATION ORDERS are now in effect for all three LRRCN communities: John D'Or Prairie, Fox Lake and Garden River, which are being impacted by the Semo Wildfire Complex.
The Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) advises that Garden River is under an evacuation order, as of July 10. The communities of John D'Or Prairie and Fox Lake are now also under an evacuation order (effective July 20). For more details, please visit Alberta Emergency Alert.
You can also follow Little Red River Cree Nation’s (LRRCN) Facebook page for updates at https://www.facebook.com/lrrcn or their website at https://lrrcn.ab.ca/.
A Little Red River Cree Nation firefighter works to extinguish hotspots this afternoon (July 23) along the perimeter of HWF136, which is part of the Semo Wildfire Complex.
The Semo Wildfire Complex is located north of John D'Or Prairie, Fox lake and Garden River. A few of the wildfires in this complex are located within Caribou Mountains Provincial Park, between the Ponton and the Wentzel River. An incident management team is in place on this wildfire complex, and Alberta Wildfire's response efforts are being aided by firefighters from Alaska, Ontario, P.E.I. and New Brunswick. Additional resources are on the way to replace personnel who will be taking a well-deserved break in the coming days.
There are currently 391 firefighters and support personnel, 14 helicopters and 51 pieces of heavy equipment working on the Semo Wildfire Complex.
HWF061 is a lightning-caused wildfire currently burning OUT OF CONTROL and was last estimated to be 96,274 hectares (ha). This wildfire is approximately 19 km northeast of John D'Or Prairie’s main community and approximately 12 km north of Fox Lake.
HWF136 is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL at approximately 4,763 ha in size. This wildfire is now located adjacent to Highway 58, due to successful operations yesterday (July 21). It remains north of Highway 58 and is an estimated 13 km northwest of Garden River.
HWF053 is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL. This wildfire is located directly above HWF061 and is estimated to be 709 ha in size. This wildfire was determined to have been caused by lightning. It is currently being monitored.
Other fires on this complex are within or nearby Caribou Mountain Wildland Provincial Park. Most of these wildfires have been determined to be caused by lightning, but the newer ones’ causes remain under investigation. These fires will be monitored by fire personnel, with aircraft and further support as required. These wildfires include: HWF141, which is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL north of HWF061 and east of HWF081, covering approximately 2,038 ha; HWF081, which is OUT OF CONTROL and last estimated at 48,190 ha; and HWF083, which is OUT OF CONTROL at 32,840 ha.
Fire Operations
Though the day started off with low visibility, skies cleared up for the first time in several days this afternoon and allowed helicopters to fly. Fire specialists are in the air, assessing multiple areas of HWF061 and HWF136. The area around the Semo Complex received many lightning strikes overnight and into today. One four-person fire crew is doing a smoke patrol and will be checking infrastructure in the Margaret Lake area (HWF081 is nearby) along the way.
Low-level, heat-scanning drones have been ordered and will conduct their first flight over the coming days. The drones will help provide fire specialists with a more-defined perimeter and a better idea where more active areas of the wildfires are.
On HWF061 today, two 20-pack crews of firefighters continued building line (establishing pump sites, laying hose and extinguishing hot spots) along the southwestern perimeter of the fire, working west from Foggy Tower Road. They were able to establish at least 2 km of line over the past two days and today have been supported by heavy equipment operators tight-lining ahead of their work. Tight-lining is when heavy equipment operators push a containment line in as close to a fire’s edge as possible. The heavy equipment will work on this line throughout the night.
Helicopters are currently bucketing water onto hotspots along the middle of HWF061’s southern perimeter. Airtankers were requested and are currently on route to HWF061. Air support will be requested again tomorrow, if visibility permits, and, as conditions allow; helicopters will also continue to support our firefighting efforts.
Overnight, heavy equipment operators completed the removal of vegetation (trees, shrubs and other fuels) for 10 km each way (a 20-km containment line) along the northern side of Highway 58, off of Foggy Tower Road. The vegetation removal will strengthen the highway’s containment line capability north of John D’or Prairie. Little Red River Cree Nation heavy equipment operators are getting close to completing guards around cabins near Highway 58 and HWF061 and HWF136. Overnight and into tomorrow, both heavy equipment groups will start working on extending a guard along Highway 58 to the east of the containment line that was just completed.
Five Little Red River Cree Nation (LRRCN) fire crews and one crew of 20 firefighters again worked on HWF136 and will keep up similar goals for tomorrow. They are working to establish line and extinguish hotspots 100 feet into the perimeter along Highway 58 and along the dozer access guard. LRRCN fire crews also are working on extinguishing hot spots 100 feet into burned areas surrounding cabins. These cabins were protected and reinforced with dozer guards. Heavy equipment is working the fire perimeter along Highway 58 to remove trees close to the highway and pile them along the shoulder. They are doing this work to prevent the trees from falling on Highway 58 and transferring fire or embers on the south side.
Heavy equipment operators kept pushing a containment line in along the south-east/east perimeter of HWF136 today, with the goal of tying the line into a wet feature (like a river or creek) along the northeastern edge of the fire. A crew of 20 firefighters followed behind the heavy equipment group to ensure there are no ember transfers or spot fires.
The structure protection unit (SPU) is making good progress assessing John D’or Prairie and completing FireSmart work in the community and will keep this work up tomorrow. They are 99 percent done their original structure protection plan and, moving forward, will be adding improvements, as necessary. This morning, some of the sprinkler systems were tested. Overnight tonight, SPU teams will patrol Highway 58 for ember spread or spot fires and call in a crew of firefighters on standby if any fire spread is noted. One Little Red River Cree Nation fire truck from John D’or will start patrolling tonight.
Weather Forecast | Semo Complex
Overnight, the forecast calls for a low of just 11 C, with a relative humidity (RH) of 80 percent. Tomorrow, we’ll see a high of 23, with an RH of 40. With cooler temperatures coming Thursday and Friday, we’ll see an increase in gusty winds. They’ll be coming from the north at 15-20 km/hr, with gusts up to 35 km/hr and increasing mid-day to sustained 25-30 km/hr (with gusts ranging from 50-60 km/hr).
With the large increases in wind, we may see higher levels of fire behaviour and, therefore, possibly significant fire growth later in the week. There is, however, rain expected on both Thursday and Friday, which will greatly assist in firefighting efforts and should help with visibility issues; however, in these extremely dry conditions, it is not enough sustained precipitation to make a large impact on wildfires.
Expand (click) to view the full public map of the Semo wildfire complex.
HCX002 - MELVIN RIVER COMPLEX* | BISTCHO LAKE (part of HTZ001), HWF030, HWF047, HWF065, HWF072, HWF075 and HWF091
*The Amber River Complex has been blended into the Melvin River Complex.
An incident management team is responsible for the personnel and resources assigned to the Melvin River Complex and its eight wildfires: Bistcho Lake (HTZ001), HWF030, HWF047, HWF065, HWF072, HWF074, HWF075 and HWF091). There are currently 69 personnel, 12 helicopters and five pieces of heavy equipment working on the wildfires within this complex. The wildfires in this complex do not currently threaten any communities.
Our GIS mapping specialists have very recently completed a close reassessment of wildfire sizes across the High Level Forest Area, which accounts for the increases noted in the number of hectares burned on some of the wildfires in this complex.
Please note that limited visibility is still impacting air operations in most areas of the wildfire complex.
HTZ001 is a mutual aid wildfire that originated in the border zone with the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.) in 2023. 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, and its is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL. Some reassessments of structural protection are ongoing.
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.
HWF091, which is located NW of HWF065, is BEING HELD and is estimated to cover an area 3,492 ha. Monitoring of this wildfire is ongoing.
HWF072, which is approximately 60 km northwest of Chateh, is burning OUT OF CONTROL and is estimated to cover an area 18,170 ha in size. Heli-bucketing is being conducted on the west side of this wildfire, as conditions and visibility permit.
HWF065 is currently BEING HELD and is estimated to cover an area 36,067 ha in size. This wildfire is about 2 km southwest of Bistcho Lake and was determined to have been caused by lightning.
HWF047 is burning OUT OF CONTROL and is now estimated to cover an area of 1,707 ha in size, after some growth was observed on the east side. This wildfire was determined to have been caused by lightning. Helicopters are assisting firefighters to contain this wildfire; however, limited visibility is still impacting air operations.
WF030 is BEING HELD and is estimated to cover an area 3,221 ha in size. The cause of this fire is under investigation. Heavy equipment work continues on perimeter areas of this wildfire. Fire crews are working on expanding containment lines to 100 feet, which is aimed at moving areas from containment to controlled, as conditions permit.
OTHER WILDFIRES IN THE HIGH LEVEL FOREST AREA
None of these other wildfires in the area (below) currently threaten any communities.
HWF147 is burning OUT OF CONTROL located 51 km west-southwest of Rainbow Lake and 85 km west-northwest of High Level. It is estimated to be 0.9 ha in size. There are four firefighters and two helicopters associated to this wildfire.
HWF146 is burning OUT OF CONTROL located 25 km east-southeast of Zama City. It is estimated to be 35 ha in size. There are 12 firefighters, two helicopters and two dozers associated to this wildfire.
HWF145 is burning OUT OF CONTROL located 24 km east-southeast of Zama City. It is estimated to be 26 ha in size. There are eight firefighters, one helicopter and two dozers associated to this wildfire.
HWF133 is burning OUT OF CONTROL and estimated to be 336 ha in size. The cause of this fire is under investigation.
HWF121 is burning OUT OF CONTROL and estimated to be 6,790 ha in size. The cause of this fire is under investigation.
HWF115 is classified as BEING HELD, which means that given current weather conditions and resources, the wildfire is not anticipated to grow past expected boundaries. It's now estimated to be 15 ha in size.
HWF102 is being held and estimated to be 6,958 ha in size. The fire was determined to have been caused by lightning.
To view these and other wildfires in the province, view our interactive map by following the active wildfire link.
PROVINCIAL WILDFIRE SITUATION (as of 10 a.m., July 23)
The fire danger is extreme throughout all of the province except for along the B.C. border, where it is low to high.
Since January 1, 2024 in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta, there have been 940 wildfires burning a total of 535,082 hectares (ha).
Last year, on this date, there were 905 wildfires that burnt a total of 2,178,074 ha. In the past five years on this date, an average of 756 wildfires had burnt an average of 628,223 ha.
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 and learn what is prohibited and allowed under this ban.
The fire ban will remain in effect until conditions improve.
FIRE PERMITS REQUIRED
At this time, the High Level Forest Area is not issuing any permits. All existing permits are currently suspended.
High Level Forest Area | Permit Line: 780-926-5407. Stay informed of fire restrictions and fire bans in your area by checking Alberta Fire Bans.
DANGEROUS TREES | Be extra cautious near burnt areas and avoid forested areas that have been recently affected by wildfire. Hazards remain from deep ash pits, burning peat and falling trees or branches, especially if windy.
SMOKE | Lingering smoke may still be visible in some areas and in affected communities. Smoke inversions can trap air near the ground causing dangerous driving conditions and poor air quality. Please use extra caution when driving in smoky conditions. To see forecasted smoke, please visit FireSmoke.ca. If you have smoke related health concerns, please visit or contact Alberta 811.
ALBERTA HEALTH WILDFIRE RESOURCES | You can visit Alberta Health Services for information on how you or your loved ones can access resources related to wildfire impacts and smoke concerns.
DRONES | The use of recreational drones over wildfires in Alberta is dangerous, illegal and could result in a fine of up to $15,000* for putting aircraft and people at risk. Please give firefighters the space they need to do their jobs safely. *Transport Canada.
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
- Visit firesmoke.ca to view smoke drifts in the area
- Call 811 for smoke related health concerns
- For evacuation information please visit https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-emergency-alert.aspx
- Download the Alberta Wildfire app today and get access to accurate, real-time information on wildfires in your area. You can also find information on fire advisories, restrictions and bans across the province and much more all on your mobile device. Available for Apple and Android.
- Before heading out, check the fire bans website or download the app to determine if there are any fire advisories, fire restrictions or fire bans in effect for your destination.
- Subscribe to the High Level Forest Area Update to receive an email when new information is posted. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
- Missed an issue of the High Level Forest area Wildfire Update? You can find previous updates on our website.
- For evacuation orders and alerts in the Province visit Alberta Emergency Alerts or your community webpage for more information.
- For road closure information, visit Alberta 511 or download the app.
- To see all the wildfires burning in Alberta click here.
- Learn how you can prepare yourself for a wildfire with some tips and tricks on wildfire preparedness.
