Rocky Mountain House Area Update

The wildfire danger in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area is extreme. 

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 five wildfires burning in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area. Two of these wildfires are out of control, one is classified as being held and two are under control. Since January 1, 2023 there have been 51 wildfires in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area, burning a total of 115,749.33 hectares (ha).

ACTIVE WILDFIRES

RCU005 - Thanks to the hard work of the County, Alberta Wildfire and the Canadian Armed Forced, as of May 17 2023, we have classified RCU005 as being held.

Alberta Wildfire continues to support RCU005 with resources and given the current weather conditions, the wildfire is not anticipated to grow past expected boundaries.

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

**Bold indicates new or important information.

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 113,244 hectares (ha) in size. The increased size is attributed to growth that has been observed over the last few days and due to more accurate mapping. Containment line is established on the northwest tip of the fire. 

There are 79 firefighters and support staff being shared between this fire and EWF039. There are 20 pieces of heavy equipment and 9 helicopters assigned to the complex. An airtanker group is available to respond if necessary. A new Incident Management Team from the United States arrived yesterday and will be working on the Pembina Complex starting Monday.

Yesterday, visibility issues from smoke in the area continued. Aerial ignition operations were not conducted but will be reassessed when visibility in the area improves. Crews continued working on hotspots south of Svedberg Road and an additional crew will work along the excursion that occurred 4 km south of Svedberg Road.

Both hotspots are estimated to be 1 ha in size and will require multiple days of sustained action by crews and heavy equipment.

The containment line south from Dora’s Corner was completed yesterday, as well as containment line on the north side, working towards 6 Mile Road. Both containment lines will need air support operations when visibility improves, and it is safe for aircraft to operate to perform bucketing.

A downturn in weather is occurring. There is a chance of isolated or scattered rain and thunder cells in the vicinity of the fire. Winds from the southwest at 10-15 km/h are expected today. 

RWF034 is located near the O'Chiese Reserve and is classified as out of control. The fire is currently estimated at 82,869 ha in size. The increased size is attributed to growth that has been observed over the last few days and due to more accurate mapping. There are 55 firefighters and support staff working on this fire. There are 3 helicopters assigned to the fire and four additional helicopters assigned to the complex. In addition, there are 22 pieces of heavy equipment.

Visibility issues from smoke in the area may continue to impact aerial and ground operations. Ground crews will be assessing locations on the southside of the fire for future operations. Crews continue to mop up in the northern part of the southwest side of the fire.

RWF040 is located 6 km northeast of the Forestry Trunk Road and Brown Creek Provincial Recreational Area and is classified as out of control. The fire is being monitored by firefighters and support staff assigned to the complex and they are able to respond if necessary. The fire is currently estimated to be 4,544 ha in size. Growth has occurred mostly to the west. The Blackstone Lookout Tower in the area is currently not at risk.

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 Wildfire 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 511 wildfires burning a total of 945,815.86 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.