Rocky Mountain House Area Update

The wildfire danger in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area is 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 120,541.30 hectares (ha). 

A cold front currently will continue to swing east through the boreal forest tonight bringing with it potentially significant wind shifts and strong gusts. Rain and thunderstorms may develop tonight in the boreal forest and northern east slopes under the influence of this cold front. 

For Monday, the cold front will continue eastward to be slowly crossing eastern and southern Alberta through the day. Significant cooling is expected in the wake of the front. Mainly moderate to high relative humidities will continue except in some areas of the southern east slopes. 

Initial attack and lookout resources remain diligent with fixed detection and aerial patrols.

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 113 firefighters and incident management team members and support staff being shared between all fires on the Complex. There are 97 pieces of heavy equipment, and 23 helicopters assigned to the complex. An airtanker group is available to respond if necessary.

Crews took advantage of the minimal fire behavior to make good progress with their assignments. Dozers continued guard construction on both the northern and southern edges of the Wildfire Complex. In the north area they secured completed guard on the perimeter of the EWF031 excursion while south of RWF034 and RWF040, dozers and crews are expanding the guard in that area. After new dozer guard is constructed, crews follow behind securing with water systems, extinguishing hotspots, mopping up, removing or “demobing” the water systems when the fire threat is mitigated, then progress on to the next area needing attention. It is a long process and essential to containing the fire.

Fire behavior was minimal throughout the early part of the day with cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity suppressing fire activity. Smoldering fire with minimal low rates of spread were observed and ground fire is still present. In the afternoon, increased temperatures and winds resulted in potential fire spread on the surface with intermittent individual tree torching and crowning. It was a good day for fighting fire and noticeable progress was made.

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. There was minimal fire growth today and that was well within fire contingency lines.

Yesterday wildfire firefighters and heavy equipment were successful in placing dozer and hand guard around the entire excursion located on the northeast portion of EWF031- (Sub Section 1 of Section 1 in T50 R13 W5). The dozer guard on the perimeter of the excursion is being secured by crews completing the installation of water hose and the addition of supplemental dozer guard where needed. Helicopters will continue bucket drops and stand by to assist crews on the ground.

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 drops 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. The one smoke detected days ago is well into the fire perimeter was in a burnt tree stump and is no longer showing any activity. The Lookout staff will keep watch over the area.

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 south side of RWF034 along the Brazeau River, dozer guard construction was completed today. Crews are supporting the guard and monitoring conditions.

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

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. Dozer guard was completed a couple of days ago around the east, south, and west sides of RWF040. Crews are actively supporting the guard with the installation of water systems which includes hose and pumps. An infrared scan completed a few days ago indicated that there were several hotspots within the fire perimeter. Crews are individually checking the hotspots for any potential issues and extinguishing any threats.

Some smoke is 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.

This will be the final day of the two-week assignment for the NW Compact IMT from the United States that has been managing the fire along with Alberta Wildfire staff. The incoming IMT is from British Columbia and will start actively managing the fire this evening. 

Thank you so much to the NW Compact Incident Management Team for their amazing help. Safe travels home. 

For wildfire updates on this group of wildfires, please visit the Edson Forest Area Update.

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 in 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 570 wildfires burning a total of 1,198,977.47 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.