High Level Area Update

Fire activity on the southeast perimeter of the Paskwa Fire on May 16, 2023

WILDFIRE DANGER 

The wildfire danger is EXTREME in the High Level Forest Area.

We ask Albertans to be extremely cautious if they are spending time in the Forest Area of Alberta. The hot and dry weather continues to drive up the wildfire danger. In these conditions, a wildfire will ignite easily and spread quickly.

We are expecting high temperatures ranging from 15-22 degrees in the north with relative humidity between 10-20 percent. Winds are expected to be from the southeast - northeast, at 15-20 km/h. These conditions can cause extreme fire behaviour.

WILDFIRE SITUATION REPORT| MAY 17,2023 at 9:00 a.m.

There are currently five wildfires burning in the High Level Forest Area. Two of these wildfires are classified as out of control and three are under control.

Firefighters, aircraft, and heavy equipment have been working in conjunction with communities, county and municipal firefighting services as aggressively as possible to make progress on these wildfires. Despite all of this hard work, there remains uncontained wildfire perimeter and fire behavior forecasts indicate that there will be growth on the wildfires throughout the region.

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. 

To see all the wildfires burning in Alberta click here.

There are multiple EVACUATION ORDERS & ALERTS in the Province. Please visit Alberta Emergency Alerts or your community webpage for more information.

THE LONG LAKE FIRE | HWF036 | MAY 16,2023 at 9:00 a.m.

This fire is located in the vicinity of the Town of Rainbow Lake. This wildfire is classified as out of control (OC) at 96,387 hectares.  

Development of a high-pressure zone near the Long Lake Fire operations will cause a wind shift from the Northwest to light winds from the East early Wednesday morning. The high-pressure system and light winds will persist through Thursday and Friday. Smoke is expected to increase in density over the fire throughout the day, potentially dampening fire behavior.

This wildfire is located in an area with diverse oil and gas, energy sector and communities, the priority remains the safety of people and all of crews working on the fire.

This wildfire is located approximately 12 km from the community of Chateh. Teams are working hard on securing existing fire guards west of the community of Chateh. Additional crews have arrived and are helping suppress the fire and extinguish excursions. 

Our top priority is the safety of the people in the Town of Rainbow Lake, the community of Chateh, and oil and gas and energy infrastructure. Wildland firefighter crews and wildland urban interface crews continue to ensure protection of the structures within the town and community. Ground crews will continue to action excursions around the Town of Rainbow Lake and ensure all excursions are fully extinguished.  Ground crews and heavy equipment are working to establish 100-foot containment in ignition area around Rainbow Lake.

The Incident management team providing the continued support for restoration of critical infrastructure and communications systems in the Town of Rainbow Lake. Damage was done to powerlines, resulting in no power within the Town of Rainbow Lake, community of Chateh and the hamlet of Zama City.

There are road closures in the area. Please visit 511 for the most updated travel information. 

Today there are 138 firefighters, 10 helicopters and 15 heavy equipment working on the Long Lake Fire. Structural protection crews will continue protecting structures within the area as the wildfire situation evolves. These crews continue to patrol the Town of Rainbow Lake, throughout the day and night to spot any hotspots and excursions within the town. Wildland Urban Interface crews have deployed to the community of Chateh to work on structural protection operations, Firesmart work around homes and operationalize the defense plan 

The peak burning period for wildfires occurs in the early afternoon. Fire activity tends to slow down in the morning and late evenings when temperatures are cooler and humidity levels higher.  The wildfire is much more active in the heat of the day, and the wildfire has spread significantly to the southeast. The wildfire still remains burning away from the community of Chateh moving in a South Southeast direction.  The wildfire also spread passed the Silvertip camp, however the dozer guard protection and the sprinkler systems in place provided protection to the structures on site. Additional fire spread occurred towards infrastructure south of the Town of Rainbow Lake. Operations continue to use rotary wing with buckets to suppress the fire in this area. 

Alberta Wildfire has deployed more resources on this wildfire to continue to suppress the wildfire. Yesterday, the fire had higher relative humidity which helped to contain the fire in key locations. Minimal spread was observed today. Heavy Water was relocated for the protection of the infrastructure plant site south of the fire.  

The Town of Rainbow Lake is on evacuation order.

The community of Chateh is now on evacuation order.  

Please stay informed by downloading the Alberta Emergency Alert mobile app or by visiting their website.

THE PASKWA FIRE | HWF030 | MAY 17, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

The Paskwa fire is located in the community of Fox Lake and was detected on May 2, 2023. This fire is classified as Out of Control (OC) and the last recorded size is 54,155 hectares. The fire is approximately 2km from the Wood Buffalo National Park boundary and 12km from the community of Garden River.

Overnight, driven by wind the fire grew towards the south and away from the community of Garden River. The fire grew more due south than forecast and so remains outside of Wood Buffalo National Park. It is expected to cross the border of the park during operations today. The southeast edge of the fire is forecast to reach the border early tomorrow morning.

Today, ignition operations will occur to burn off forest fuels between the retardant line near the community of Garden River and the northeast perimeter of the fire. Today the Structure Protection Group will be in place in Garden River and the Incident Information Officer will be in the community to provide answers to residents’ questions, as well as acting as a point of contact for the Paskwa fire operations branch into the community and providing updates as the operation progresses. In addition to the resources in Garden River, the operation is being supported by bucketing from heavy helicopters. Five medium helicopters are available to provide bucketing support as well.

This morning, crews installed sprinklers at the Fifth Meridian cultural heritage site. These sprinklers will be activated for the duration of ignition operations. The operation will take advantage of favourable weather conditions and winds from the east that will blow the fire away from Garden River. During ignition, fire and smoke, as well as firefighting operations including helicopter bucketing from heavy helicopters will be highly visible from Garden River.

Today, work is continuing in the community of Fox Lake to create safe conditions to allow for re-entry, beginning with temporary access and escorted community visits is ongoing. Crews are working to create an extinguished perimeter of approximately 30 metres around every structure. ATCO crews are also working in the community to restore power and repair damaged lines.

Heavy equipment began to create new control lines along the perimeter of the fire, working southeast from Deep Lake. Crews have finished control lines along the south edge of the fire near the cultural heritage site and began demobilizing equipment to prepare for deployment elsewhere on the fireline.

There are 95 firefighters, 9 helicopters, and heavy equipment working on the Paskwa fire. Air tanker support is available as requested.

Little Red River Cree Nation has an evacuation order in place for the community of Fox Lake. The community of Garden River is on an evacuation alert. For information regarding the evacuation, please stay informed by visiting the Little Red River Cree Nation’s Facebook page.

The Incident Management Team will continue to coordinate with the Wood Buffalo National Park management team as the fire moves towards the park boundary.

Weather Forecast | Paskwa Fire (HWF030)

The Incident Management Team has a dedicated Fire Behaviour Analyst and therefore the weather briefing will be fire area specific. Hot and dry conditions continue with no significant rain in the forecast. Today the forecast is as follows, a temperature in the low 20 degrees and a relative humidity of 20 percent. East winds of 10-15 km/h will continue throughout the day. Winds will be pushing the fire away from the community of Garden River.

The Paskwa Fire on the morning of May 17, 2023

Where can I find more information about the wildfires?

Current information on wildfires can be found:

• wildfire.alberta.ca
• Download the Alberta Wildfire Status App https://open.alberta.ca/blog/?page_id=206
• High Level Forest Area Updates: https://srd.web.alberta.ca/high-level-area-update
• Follow Alberta Wildfire on Facebook, twitter and Instagram.

To Report a wildfire call 310-FIRE(3473)

SMOKE RELATED ISSUES

If you see smoke that is causing safety concerns to road conditions, please report to Alberta 511. Individuals experiencing smoke related health issues, can contact Alberta Health. To see a map showing the smoke forecast 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

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