The wildfire danger is very high in the High Level Forest Area. With the return of hot and windy conditions new wildfire starts have the potential to spread quickly. Please do your part and respect the Fire Ban and OHV Restriction. Help firefighters respond to new wildfires by calling 310-FIRE(3473).
Under this fire ban:
•All existing Fire Permits are suspended (or cancelled)
•No new Fire Permits will be issued
Prohibited:
•All outdoor wood fires are banned, including wood campfires on public lands, wood campfires on private land and provincial campgrounds
•Backyard firepits
•BBQ charcoal briquettes
•The use of fireworks and exploding targets
•The recreational use of off-highway vehicles (OHV) on public lands, including designated OHV trails
Allowed:
•Propane/natural gas-powered appliances
•Open flame oil devices (e.g., turkey deep fryers, tiki torches)
•Indoor wood fires contained within a device with a chimney and spark arrestor
•All appliances must be CSA approved and used per manufacturer’s standards
•Indigenous people when using an OHV for traditional purposes. Traditional purposes are hunting, fishing, and trapping – including the use of an OHV to travel to the location(s) for these purposes.
•Essential industry-related activities requiring the use of OHVs.
•Off-highway vehicle use is still permitted on private lands.
Stay away from active wildfire areas | For your safety and to ensure firefighters can do their job safely, please stay away from active wildfire areas. Your cooperation is essential.
Danger 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.
Reporting wildfires | Please do not report smoke or flame from within an active wildfire area. Firefighters are diverted from essential tasks to respond to fires reported by the public. You may see smoke or flame within the existing boundary of a wildfire, this is normal.
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, and take necessary precautions if you have smoke-related health 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 Alberta firefighters the space they need to do their jobs safely. *Transport Canada
There are 10 wildfires in the High Level Forest Area. Of these fires, five are classified as out of control (OC), one is being held (BH) and four are under control (UC). Firefighters responded to one new wildfire today, fire HWF066. Please see the updates below regarding the Paskwa fire and the Long Lake Complex. To see a map of the wildfires in the High Level Forest Area and across the province please click here.
Wildfires of interest;
HWF065 | This fire is located approximately 42 km southeast of the South Tall Cree boundary, where the Wabasca River meets highway 88. This fire is classified as out of control (OC) at 756 hectares. Firefighters are patrolling and monitoring this fire.
WEATHER | The forecast for today is as follows, a temperature of 21 degrees, a relative humidity of 30 percent with winds northwest 10-15 km/h.
THE LONG LAKE COMPLEX | HWF036, HWF058 | JUNE 13, 2023 AS OF 1:30 PM
Fires HWF036, HWF058, HWF064 and HBZ001 are being managed by the Incident Management Team (IMT) on the Long Lake fire and it is now called The Long Lake Complex.
HWF036 | This fire was detected on May 3, 2023. This fire is classified as Out of Control (OC) with a last recorded size of 156,663 hectares.
The fire is active on the western and northern border along the Hay River, moving towards the British Columbia border. Crews are monitoring the fire by air and bucketing priority hot spots. Hot spots on the southern edge were detected yesterday and crews quickly extinguished them.
Thick smoke has increased over the past 2 days and aircraft operations have been limited due to visibility. As the smoke lifts this afternoon fire activity will increase.
The northeast guard protecting the community of Chateh continues to hold with limited active fire along this edge. Firefighters continue to build containment lines with dozers along Silvertip Road to the gas plant. Cenovus has been working with the Incident Management Team (IMT) to determine a safe return to work plan.
Aircraft is working on hot spots along Baseline Road and north of Baseline Road. Putting out hot spots as they arise. There has been reduced fire activity along the power easement and gas plant area. Crews have been working with dozers along the fire edge from Winter Road to the power line easement.
Please be aware that there is still active fire burning in the area. Residents are reminded not to enter the fire area due to large number of firefighters, and equipment working. Burnt trees continue to fall which are dangerous.
HWF058 |This fire is located approximately 80 km southwest of the Town of High Level and approximately 20 km northwest of the of Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement boundary marker, where the Haig River meets the Chinchaga River. This fire is classified as out of control (OC) with an estimated size of 18,719 hectares.
Equipment and dozers have been activated to access the fire from the north and south. The fire has been active with growth reported to the east and southeast. Yesterday morning the fire area was very smoky however crews are able to safely access the southeast side and worked to establish control lines with the support of aircraft. In the afternoon conditions changed so crews and aircraft were pulled back for safety reasons. A base camp for crews has been established at Keg River Camp, southwest of Paddle Prairie
HWF064 | This fire was detected June 9th, 2023. This fire is classified as out of control (OC) with an estimated size of 4’650 hectares
The fire is located 10km north west of Zama City and has shown minimal growth under yesterday’s cloudy conditions. When able to due to smoke, Crews are monitoring the fire by air and bucketing priority hot spots. A structure protection unit is in place. Heavy equipment have been deployed to the area and will commence work today.
There are 260 personnel, 11 aircraft and 18 heavy equipment working across this complex of fires. An additional 100 firefighters from South America are arriving to support the complex later this week. Incident Management Teams from Canada, and Australia and a large number of helicopters are currently working at the Incident Command Post located at the Town of Rainbow Lake airport to support these fires.
The Incident Management Team continues to work closely with effected communities, First Nations and industry stakeholders.
There are three fires burning along the BC and Alberta border. They are in remote country with no community and are being monitored by air. The Long Lake Fire complex incident management team are in daily contact with the BC Wildfire Service. For more information on these fires please go BC Wildfire Service (gov.bc.ca)
Weather Forecast | Long Lake Complex
The forecast for today is as follows, a temperature of 20 degrees, a relative humidity of 20 percent with winds northwest 10-15 km/h.
THE PASKWA FIRE | HWF030 | JUNE 13, 2023 AS OF 1:30 PM
The Paskwa Fire is classified as Out of Control (OC) at 96,454 hectares. The top priorities for managing the Paskwa Fire are full extinguishment of fire within Fox Lake, protecting Garden River, and working toward securing the fire perimeter to prevent significant fire spread.
Smoke is still lingering in the community of Fox Lake and ground crews are still working in the community actioning smokes with bucketing operations. Today, crews will be working to extinguish hotspots and remove danger trees along Prairie Road and other priority areas around the community as they work in stages. These crews will be moved to action any flare-ups that will take priority.
Work continues along the entire northeast perimeter to extinguish hot spots, working to keep the fire south of the Peace River. Today, firefighters are finishing up work near 5th Meridian and be moved as needed to hot areas. The fire has run into marsh and wet land and so it will be monitored for movement as it self-extinguishes itself in these areas. Aircraft is also monitoring the area for any spotting that could happen if windy conditions occur. This area is a priority to prevent fire spread north across the Peace River and to protect the community of Garden River.
Helicopters will continue bucketing along the southeast perimeter, and today ground crews will continue with fire suppression in the area. Yesterday, this was the most active area of the wildfire as most of the heat from the wildfire is located on this flank. There was some movement on the southeast corner, but it is being managed by helicopter bucketing. Firefighters will work to extinguish hotspots from Little Red River moving to Muskeg Creek.
Work continues in Fox Lake to extinguish 75m (250 ft) perimeters around structures and the removal of danger trees. Heavy equipment is working around larger hotspot areas where there is still potential for fire spread to contain the fire while crews work to extinguish these hotspots.
The high-volume water system, water lines, and sprinkler systems on structures are in place in the community of Garden River and structural firefighters will be available as needed. These are proactive measures to ensure the community is prepared should the fires move closer to Garden River.
There are currently 140 personnel supporting the Paskwa Fire response consisting of wildland and structural firefighters, incident management staff, and Paskwa Fire Base support staff. There are also 12 helicopters and 19 pieces of heavy equipment dedicated to the Paskwa fire.
Weather Forecast | Paskwa Fire
Today, the forecast is as follows a temperature of 22 degrees, a relative humidity of 35 percent and winds, north 15 km/h.
Evacuation Information and Alerts
Little Red River Cree Nation has an evacuation order in place for the community of Fox Lake. The community of Garden River remains on an evacuation alert. For information regarding the evacuation, please stay informed by visiting the Little Red River Cree Nation’s Facebook page.
The community of Garden River is under an evacuation alert.
Wood Buffalo National Park Fire Update| Davidson Complex | June 12, 2023
The fires in the Davidson Lake area are approximately 49,864 hectares combined and located 23 km northeast of Garden River.
Yesterday, Fire 14 saw significant fire behaviour on the north flank, driven by shifting winds. Fire specialists conducted a second ignition operation to back the fire into Trident Creek to limit the potential of the fire crossing Trident Creek, and so far this has held. This operation was supported by two helicopters from the Paskwa Fire in the Province of Alberta.
The team will continue to monitor for opportunities to conduct these indirect suppression tactics to limit spread of the fire towards the community and values. Forecast rain later next week may allow for direct suppression efforts to occur along the flank closest to Garden River.
Eight bulldozers and two excavators continued building control lines, moving south from dozer line A towards the Peace River.
Crews maintained structure protection around the cabin closest to the southwest flank of the fire. A crew continues to be based out of the Paskwa fire base with one helicopter, in order to continue assessing cabins and maintaining sprinkler systems already in place in the area more easily and efficiently.
This information has been provided by the Wood Buffalo National Park, Fire Information Officer. For more information regarding fires burning within the Wood Buffalo National Park, please click here.
DO NOT FLY DRONES NEAR WILDFIRES!
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 Alberta firefighters the space they need to do their jobs safely.
*Transport Canada
ALBERTA STATE OF EMERGENCY
A provincial state of emergency has been declared. Albertans who require assistance can call 310-4455 for wildfire related information.
WILDFIRE INFORMATION
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, please check albertafirebans.ca to determine whether 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.
WILDFIRE LINKS AND TOOLS
Volunteers, equipment owners/operators or firefighters looking to assist with these wildfires or any of the wildfires within the province can contact EmergencySupportOffers@gov.ab.ca.
There are multiple EVACUATION ORDERS & ALERTS in the Province. Please visit Alberta Emergency Alerts or your community webpage for more information.
For road closure information, please visit: 511.alberta.ca
Wildfire smoke is a tool used for the location of smoke firesmoke.ca
To see all the wildfires burning in Alberta click here.
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Victoria Ostendorf
Wildfire Information Officer
High Level Forest Area
Mobile: 780-841-9387
Email: victoria.ostendorf@gov.ab.ca