Rocky Mountain House Area Update

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

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

AMENDMENTS TO FIRE BAN AND OHV RESTRICTION

As of 10:00 AM, Friday May 26, the fire ban and OHV restriction have been lifted in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area.  A FIRE RESTRICTION is now in effect.

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 53 wildfires in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area, burning a total of 120,540.51 hectares (ha).

ACTIVE WILDFIRES

RCU005 - This wildfire is classified as being held. Alberta Wildfire continues to support RCU005 with resources. Given the current weather conditions, the wildfire is not anticipated to grow past expected boundaries.

PEMBINA WILDFIRE COMPLEX - EWF031/039, RWF034/040

Today, there are 97 firefighters and Incident Management Team (IMT) support staff being shared between all fires on the complex. There are 60 pieces of heavy equipment, and 27 helicopters assigned to the complex. An airtanker group remains available to respond if necessary.

Access to the interior of the fire perimeter continues to improve on parts of the fire not impacted by today’s rain showers. Dozers are creating containment line on both the northern and southern sides of the wildfire complex. Crews are working directly on the fire line using tools and water to mop up, secure, and fill in some of the gaps between the fire and the containment line. They continue to make progress on securing the perimeters of EWF031. 

Fire behavior started out as moderate throughout the morning with stable temperatures and moderate relative humidity. Cloud cover decreased temperatures and increased humidity. Rain showers moved into some areas of the of the wildfire complex this afternoon with increasing winds and precipitation while other portions of the complex receive no precipitation. Surface fire was observed earlier in the day followed by increased fire activity in the afternoon including crowning and fire spread on EWF031 extending from the excursion yesterday on the northeast side of the fire.

The expected forecast will bring warming and drying conditions through the coming week.

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 125,033 ha in size. 

Today firefighting resources are focused on the excursion located on the northeast portion of the fire. This excursion continued to advance north, northwest of the fire perimeter but is still within the containment line. The team had aircraft on the excursion all day yesterday, including airtankers using water and retardant. Dozers and crews focused their efforts on building and securing guard around the excursion. They secured approximately 2 km of containment line around the excursion and are expected to have an additional 2 km constructed by this evening. 

There is a containment line on the north side of the fire working downwards towards 6 Mile Road as well as a containment line located south from Dora’s Corner (completed several days ago). Both lines will have continued air support as visibility allows, and it is safe for aviation resources to operate. 

EWF039 located near Carrot Creek, is currently being held. The fire is currently estimated to be 165 ha. The fire is fully wrapped in containment line and is a kilometer away from the Carrot Creek lookout tower. Crews successfully left the area and have been repositioned on fire EWF031. Personnel are continuing to monitor the area available to respond if necessary. 

Containment line construction continues from the south end of the Brazeau Reservoir then proceeding west along the south shore of the Brazeau River to the southwest corner of RWF040, then proceeding north. Preparations continue for a controlled burn between the southern edge of the RWF034 and RWF040 fires and the Brazeau River. The operation will take place sometime this week when conditions are safe for allowing the operation to proceed. The conditions the last several days were not conducive for conducting the operation.

RWF034 is located near the O'Chiese Reserve and classified as out of control. The fire is currently estimated at 87,108 ha in size.

Dozer guard construction continues from the south end of the Brazeau Reservoir then proceeding west along the south shore of the Brazeau River to the southwest corner of the RWF040 fire, then proceeding north. Preparations continue for a controlled burn between the southern edge of the RWF034 and RWF040 fires and the Brazeau River. The operation will take place sometime this week when conditions are safe for allowing the operation to proceed. The conditions the last several days were not conducive for conducting the operation.

Effective May 23, 2023, the evacuation order for the O’Chiese FN was lifted and there are no alerts in place.

RWF034 and RWF040 have connected and will be managed as one fire although they will be tracked individually for the time being.

RWF040 is being monitored by firefighters and support staff assigned to the complex and can respond if necessary. The fire is currently estimated to be 5,089 ha in size. Some smoke was observed within the fire line which is to be expected with the trend of warming and drying conditions. Past growth occurred mostly to the west. The Blackstone Lookout Tower in the area is currently not at risk.

If you have any questions or concerns about the PEMBINA COMPLEX please call the Area Wildfire Information Officer:  Caroline Charbonneau at 780-740-1341

Lightning through the area may cause new wildfire starts. Lightning-caused wildfires 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 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 541 wildfires burning a total of 1,072,498.53 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.