Lac La Biche Area Update

Wildfire Season Starts March 1

Posted on Fri, Feb 05, 2016

It's official!  Wildfire season begins on March 1, 2016.

This is a reminder that you need a permit for any burning, beginning on March 1.  If you did any winter burning and did not report it to your local Forestry office, please do so now.  This allows us to know where to expect smoke or fire in the forest this spring.  Now is also the time to check your winter burn sites.  Prod with a metal pole and feel for heat to help determine if your fire is extinguished or if it's still burning underground.

As I'm sure you're aware, we expect to start this fire season with very dry conditions.  We didn't get a lot of snow cover this winter and grass is already showing in places.  This means little run off and dry conditions.  We might get spring rains to help us out, but in the meantime, please be very careful with any fires.

We had a number of wildfires this winter - mostly abandoned campfires that dug into the dry ground, burning and smouldering.  If you're out snowmobiling or ice fishing or winter camping, please remember to put your campfires out.  Don't assume they will go out on their own because it's winter!  That's not true - Mother Nature won't put your fire out - that's your job!  Soak it, stir the ashes, and soak it again.  Fires that dig into the ground now will be very hard to extinguish later in the spring.

We hope everyone had a great winter and we are looking forward to a safe wildfire season this year.

If you have any questions, please call:

Leslie Lozinski

Forest Information Officer

780-623-9758