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 ten wildfires in the High Level Forest Area. Of these fires, six are classified as out of control (OC), and four are under control (UC). 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.
WEATHER | The forecast for today is as follows, a temperature of 20 degrees, a relative humidity of 35 percent with winds southeast changing to westerly winds midday.
THE LONG LAKE COMPLEX | HWF036, HWF058 | JUNE 16, 2023 AS OF 2:00 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 164,992 hectares.
All fire grounds in the complex will receive some light rain today however wind and fire activity will increase in the coming days
Yesterday there was increased fire activity along the south west boundary in the Baseline Road area. Crews actively suppressed this with the support of aerial bombing. Vegetation inside the fire perimeter continues to burn, we are still finding hot spots within the fire.
The additional 100 firefighters from South America to support this fire, arrived in Rainbow Lake last night and have commenced work today.
The fire is still active on the western and northern border along the Hay River, moving towards the British Columbia border.
The northeast guard protecting the community of Chateh continues to hold with limited activity fire along this edge. Firefighters continue to monitor and strengthen containment lines.
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 19,352 hectares.
Yesterday the fire saw increased activity on the south west side near the powerlines. Aerial bombing was used to suppress this.
Equipment and dozers have been activated to access the fire from the north and south. 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 5,424 hectares
The fire is located 10km north west of Zama City. The evacuation order for Zama has been suspended by Mackenzie County for the time being. The fire has not grown significantly due to favorable weather conditions. Alberta Wildfire and Mackenzie County will continue to monitor the situation closely.
We did see increased activity yesterday across the fireground that was bombed by aircraft. Heavy equipment continue to work today on brushing up dozer guards around the community. Structure protection units are in place and ready. They have been testing equipment and ensuring everything is in place.
Crews have been deployed to the area and will be based at the Noralta in Zama City.
There are currently 320 personnel, 15 aircraft and 17 heavy equipment working across this complex of fires. Incident Management Teams from across 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 17 degrees, a relative humidity of 50 percent with winds SE changing to Westerly 15km. Gusting to 40km per hour from 11am.
Firefighter working hotspot on Paskwa Fire- June 15,2023
THE PASKWA FIRE | HWF030 | JUNE 16, 2023 AS OF 10:00 AM
The top priorities for managing the Paskwa Fire are full extinguishment of fire in Fox Lake, protecting Garden River, and working toward securing the fire perimeter to prevent significant fire spread. The Paskwa wildfire is currently 96,582 ha.
Smoke is heavy this morning 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 within the community as they’re spotted. These crews will be moved to action any surface fire if it arises in other areas of Fox Lake.
Work near 5th Meridian has been completed as much as possible but will continue to be monitored if anything changes. The crews that were working in the 5th Meridian will be performing mop-up duties in the oxbow on the northeast edge. Mop-up means that crews will walk the line from one point to another feeling the ground for any heat. Once heat is spotted firefighters will work with hand tools to stir up the material and water will be added to cool the heat. The area of 5th Meridian is still a priority area that we will monitor to prevent fire spread north across the Peace River and to protect the community of Garden River.
Today, ground crews will continue with fire suppression in the southeast flank of the fire. The southeast fire spread into the edge of Ruis Lake creating a natural fire break and extinguishment zone and hasn’t moved in the past few days.
Firefighters will work to extinguish hotspots from Little Red River moving to Muskeg Creek enforcing the perimeter as this area is still not contained at this time. Aerial scanning has been planned for the area to get a better location of hotspots for firefighters and bucketing operations.
Work has been completed in Fox Lake to extinguish 75m (250 ft) perimeters around structures, the removal of danger trees is ongoing. Crews have moved to the roadways to extinguish hotspots. Heavy equipment is working around larger hotspot areas where there is still potential for fire spread when conditions are right.
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.
Many aerial scans have been completed over the course of this wildfire event and the information we receive from the data gives the operations team a better plan of where the deep burning hotspots in the area are located. Under these cool temperatures we are able to pro-actively action these hotspots that might not be visible on the surface with a combination of handtools and water.
There are currently 151 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.
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.
Weather Forecast | Paskwa Fire
Today, a daytime temperature of 20oC degrees with winds out of the west at 15 km/h with gusts of 35km/h. Relative humidity will be 40% this moisture in the air will aid in suppression efforts for firefighters. More moisture content in the air will allow firefighters to make up ground in more areas as wildfire activity will be low at this time.
Wood Buffalo National Park Fire Update| Davidson Complex | June 16, 2023 10:00 AM
The winds will be coming from the South tomorrow, so the fire will be burning onto itself and away from the community. As fire behaviour picks up mid-day tomorrow, Davidson Lake Fires should be receiving approximately 5 mm of rain in the afternoon that will decrease the fire activity for the next day or two.
Today, fire personnel observed higher intensity in the southwest corner of Fire 14, with the wind coming from the north gusting to 25 km/hr. It grew approximately 600 m today and is now 6.6 km from the community evacuation trigger line.
Dozers continued to push forward along the old Fort Smith highway today and were able to get approximately 3km from the edge of the fire. This will enable easier access for pushing another dozer guard along the fire’s edge (known as tightlining) and in the future, as weather and fire conditions allow, the ability for ground crews to action the fire safely.
Parks crews continued today to maintain structure protection on values in the area. A US hotshot crew helped with maintaining sprinkler systems today too and looked at potential hand ignition opportunities around one cabin close to the fire’s edge to provide added protection from the encroaching fire.
Tomorrow, the wind will be coming from the SE/SW, with relative humidity between 35-40%. We are planning to have helicopters doing bucketing along the western edge throughout the morning.
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
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.
WILDFIRE PREPARDNESS | Learn how you can prepare yourself for a wildfire by clicking here.
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Victoria Ostendorf
Wildfire Information Officer
High Level Forest Area
Mobile: 780-841-9387
Email: victoria.ostendorf@gov.ab.ca