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 were 105 firefighters and support staff responsible for managing operations on the wildfire. There were 67 pieces of heavy equipment, and 21 helicopters assigned to the complex. An airtanker group is available to respond if necessary.

Today crews and heavy equipment were creating containment line on both the northern and southern sides of the Wildfire Complex. In the north area, they continued to make progress on securing the perimeter of the EWF031 excursion while south of RWF034 and RWF040, dozers and crews are successfully expanding the containment line in that area.

Fire behavior as occurred yesterday, started out as moderate throughout the morning with stable temperatures and moderate relative 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 received no precipitation. Surface fire with low rates of spread was observed earlier in the day followed by increased activity in the afternoon including intermittent crowning and spread on EWF031. Thunderstorms passing through the fire caused winds to move in all direction. The predominant wind direction on EWF031 pushed back onto the fire front checking the fire progress north and nudged it slightly to the west.

Later this week, the trend continues for slowly warming and drying conditions into next weekend.

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 130,762 ha in size. This number changed due to more accurate mapping with an infrared scan conducted last night in addition to increased fire behavior that occurred over the last few days. Any fire growth today was well within fire containment lines.

Today firefighters continued to focus on the excursion located on the northeast portion of the fire. The excursion’s progress to the north was stopped by the secured containment line established by dozers and crews yesterday and today. The team also had aircraft working on the excursion throughout the day. Dozers established a containment line around a small spot fire to the east of the main excursion. Crews will continue to secure that containment line tomorrow.

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

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. One smoke was detected well into the fire perimeter. Personnel are continuing to monitor the area available to respond if necessary.

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.

On the southeast side of RWF034, an additional containment line continues to be constructed from the highway to the corner of the Brazeau Reservoir. It continues south from the reservoir and west to tie in with the Brazeau River. It then continues along the south bank of the river extending west around the southwest side of RWF040. From there it heads north on the East flank of RWF040. Good progress was made on this containment line. This work will continue and is expected to be completed within about two days.

Effective May 23, 2023, around 16:00hrs, the evacuation order for the O’Chiese First Nation was lifted and there are no alerts in place.

RWF034 and RWF040 have connected and will be managed as one fire.

RWF040 The fire is actively monitored by firefighters and support staff assigned to the complex who 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 550 wildfires burning a total of 1,106,967.07 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.