Rocky Mountain House Area Update

The wildfire danger in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area is now Very High. 

Report smoke or fire in the forest by calling 310-FIRE (3473). 

A FIRE BAN and OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE RESTRICTION remain in effect for the entire Forest Protection Area of Alberta, including the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area

• All existing fire permits are suspended (or cancelled)
• No new fire permits will be issued

• 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

• 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. 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE FOREST AREA UPDATE

There are currently four wildfires burning in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area. Two of these wildfires are OUT OF CONTROL and two are classified as under control. Since January 1, 2023 there have been 43 wildfires in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area, burning a total of 97,571.94 hectares (ha).

ACTIVE WILDFIRES

RCU005 - This wildfire is located just outside Drayton Valley. It is approximately 4,959 ha in size. Alberta Wildfire is providing support with aircraft and firefighters. Crews are working to establish a containment line along the highway and have had some success in steering the wildfire away from the community. The fire showed some increased fire activity inside the fire perimeter. The perimeter itself continues to hold with crews continuing suppression and securement.  

PEMBINA WILDFIRE COMPLEX - includes EWF031/039, RWF034/040

EWF031 was detected on May 4 and is located 25 km west of Lodgepole, 20 km northwest of Brazeau Dam and 14 km southeast of Edson. The fire is classified as out of control and is estimated to be 82,666 ha in size. Very minimal growth has been observed since May 7, 2023.

There are 72 firefighters and support staff being shared between this fire and EWF039.

An additional 20 personnel hotshot crew (similar to our unit crews) from the United States has arrived today and will be on the fireline tomorrow bringing this fire's personnel to 92. 

There are 20 pieces of heavy equipment, and eight helicopters assigned to the complex. An airtanker group is still assigned to this fire. This group is composed of one birddog and five skimmers.

Crews were focused on operations on the northeast corner yesterday and helicopters worked in conjunction with crews along containment lines. Containment line is established on the northwest tip of the fire.

Today, crews were positioned along the northwest area of the fire on both sides of the finger, which is the closest perimeter to the Town of Edson approximately 14 km away. Crews were working from this location to identify any areas to clean up an reinforce containment lines. Heavy equipment is continuing to create containment lines from the Repsol Road and working east past Wolf Lake Road where they made great progress today. 

Some minor fire spread and increased fire behaviour was observed this afternoon near Minnow Lake, and Wolf Lake, approximately two kilometres north of the Pembina River. Both areas are expected to continue producing large amounts of smoke over the coming days and will be highly visible to nearby communities.

Increased smoke and fire behaviour will be common during peak burning throughout the complex and will likely be visible to surrounding communities.

A ridge of high pressure will maintain stable conditions through Monday, meaning consistent wind speed and direction will occur. This allows crews to coordinate an operational focus. Light, 10-15km/h south/southeast will continue through Monday. Crossover conditions will still be occurring each day, that means that the humidity will be lower then the temperature, which allows for more severe fire behaviour.

A cold front will be present early Tuesday morning, causing a rapid wind shift with unpredictable gusts. This shift will change wind direction from the south/southeast to north/northwest. This means the fire will be pushed in the south/southeast direction. Cooler temperatures arrive Tuesday, but crossover conditions will remain. 

Smoke and fire behaviour increased earlier in the morning today more than previous days due to lower relative humidity recovery last night. 

RWF034 is located near the O'Chiese Reserve and classified as out of control. The fire is currently estimated at 67,042 ha in size. There are 76 firefighters and support staff shared between this fire and RWF040 working on this wildfire along with helicopters and heavy equipment. There are three helicopters assigned to the fire and three additional helicopters assigned to the complex. In addition, there are 20 pieces of heavy equipment. Crews are continuing mop up and hotspotting near and within the O’Chiese Reserve.

RWF040 is located 6 km northeast of the Forestry Trunk Road and Brown Creek Provincial Recreational Area and is classified as out of control. There are 76 firefighters and support staff shared between this fire and RWF034. The fire is currently estimated to be 2,200 ha in size.

These fires are part of the Pembina Complex, for more information on all the wildfires in the complex please refer to the Edson Forest Area page.

Lightning through the area has been causing many fire starts. Lightning can cause wildfire, which can smoulder on the ground for a few days before becoming active and visible. This is called a "holdover" fire. Alberta Forestry, parks and tourism follows weather forecasts and also tracks each lightning strike using a tracking system. This allows them to pinpoint where there are areas that have been heavily impacted by lightning. They then send out firefighters to patrol these areas.

PROVINCIAL WILDFIRE UPDATE 

Since January 1, 2023 in the Forest Protection Area, there have been 464wildfires burning a total of 531,877.89 ha.

WILDFIRE DASHBOARD

The wildfire dashboard provides up-to-date wildfire information at the click of a button. This interactive tool displays important statistics on the number of active wildfires in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta, sizes, locations, suspected causes and more.

The dashboard builds on the former wildfire status map by displaying the most frequently accessed information in one convenient location.

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.