WILDFIRE UPDATE

There have been 69 wildfires in the Peace River Forest Area this fire season, and each of these wildfires has now been extinguished with the exception of those below:

WILDFIRES OF NOTE: (update as of 1800 hours Thursday)

Battle Complex (Notikewin and Battle River wildfires):

Current size: approximately 22,000 ha

The photos below:

(left) Fire crews with dozers and heavy equipment work on extinguishing a hot spot on PWF 052. 

(Right) A dozer team moves along the east side of PWF 052. Dozers, ground crews and helicopters continue to focus on the eastern edge of the fire in advance of predicted wind shifts for Sunday.

• PWF 052 remains out of control in the Notikewin Area. 
  • This fire is located roughly 10 kilometers northwest of the town of Manning. 
  • Dozers and ground crews made solid progress on the north/northeast side today. 
  • Reinforced fire breaks on the northwest corner have held and that area of the fire is looking good.
  • The work done by our airtankers and dozers on the south side of the fire yesterday paid off as the line held. Further work on strengthening the fire break along the Stowe Creek Road.
  • Late today, with the switching winds from northeast to northwest, the fire crossed the guard and pushed eastward south of the Hotchkiss River. 
  • Tankers and helicopters with buckets worked into the evening on this excursion. Tankers will resume work first thing in the morning, to hold this line until dozers can establish a fire break in this area.
  • The plan for Sunday is to focus all resources on the east side of the fire with the intent to hold the fire and catch any potential spot fires as quickly as possible. 
  • Strong and gusty southwest winds on Sunday, coupled with continuing extreme dry conditions, will challenge the east boundaries of the fire. 
  • One of the biggest concerns tomorrow will be ember transfer, or spot fires, caused by wind carrying embers outside the current perimeter.
  • Winds will continue Saturday night into Sunday morning shifting to the southwest. These winds indicate that, unlike recent nights, the fire will remain active and intensify earlier than usual Sunday morning - likely by noon.   
  • The forecast for Sunday is for a high of 24 degrees Celsius with a relative humidity of 15 per cent and winds southwest at 20-25 kilometers per hour (kph) gusting to 30-40 kph.
  • Sunday marks a return to a Red Flag Weather Warning - extreme fire behaviour is expected.
  • We have almost 250 firefighters working on this wildfire.  We have crews from Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario!  In addition, we have three airtanker groups, 23 helicopters and 65 pieces of heavy equipment working this fire.
• PWF 054 remains being held at 74 hectares in size in the Battle River area.  This fire is on patrol status.

Tomorrow is a RED FLAG WARNING day.  This means a weather event tomorrow is expected that could pose a critical degree of danger to fireline personnel and the public. Tomorrow’s deep crossover position (temp higher than humidity) and winds mean fire behavior will be drastically impacted by the weather. 

Tomorrow is going to be another significant day for the Battle Complex. Safety of our firefighters and the public is of paramount importance. When and if the head of the fire becomes too intense to work on, we will redirect crews and equipment to safer areas, while we continue to work on areas of the fire that need strengthening in anticipation of west winds next weekend.

Battle Complex Map 

Due to fire activity late in the day Saturday an updated map was not available by the 6:00 p.m. deadline - a new map will be ready for tomorrow's update.

For updates on efforts being taken by municipal fire fighters to provide structural protection and emergency preparedness information, please visit the County of Northern Lights website.

 OTHER WILDFIRES IN THE AREA:

• PWF 043 is extinguished.
• PWF 062 is extinguished.
• PWF 064 has been turned over to the landowner.
• PWF 066 has been turned over to the landowner.

For your safety and the safety of the numerous firefighters working to contain these wildfires, please stay out of the area if you do not need to be there.

For information on the wildfire situation across the province of Alberta, visit: wildfire.alberta.ca.

FIRE PERMITS SUSPENDED

 Fire permits have been suspended, effective 1800 hours, May 16.