Rocky Mountain House Area Update

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

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

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE FOREST AREA UPDATE

Since January 1, 2023, there have been 58 wildfires in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area, burning a total of 120,929 hectares (ha). 

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

ACTIVE WILDFIRES

South African firefighters join their Alberta counterparts at a dozer guard. 

PEMBINA WILDFIRE COMPLEX - EWF031/039, RWF034/040

There are 224 firefighters and 65 support staff being shared between the Pembina Complex of fires. There are 92 pieces of heavy equipment, and 18 helicopters assigned to the complex. In addition, 160 structure protection personnel from the Town of Edson and Yellowhead County have integrated with the complex as a structure protection branch to allow for seamless coordination between Alberta Wildfire and the County.

The international contingent of personnel dedicated to the Pembina Complex includes professionals from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, United States, Alberta, B.C., and the Yukon. Over the coming days, additional support and resources are expected to arrive in support of these ongoing incidents.

Primary objectives at the Pembina Complex remain first responder and public safety. The onsite incident management team continues to work with impacted communities and partners to coordinate response in areas where the wildfire is adjacent to values.

Since June 13, widespread rain was received on all areas of the fire. Winds will be occurring from the northwest approximately 15-20 km/hr and gusting up to 35 km/hr. A low will develop over southern Alberta on Saturday, giving steadier rain and a risk of thundershowers.

The influx of precipitation received over the last couple of days may impact road access to the fireline. Access and egress routes will be assessed to ensure conditions are safe before crews utilize these routes. Aerial resources will be utilized today to perform reconnaissance flights to assess future contingency guard locations and to utilize bucketing operations on priority areas of the fire.

Conditions have not been receptive for planned ignitions and will not be receptive today due to heavy precipitation throughout the fire. Future planned ignitions will be evaluated over the coming days when favourable conditions are present and when needed to meet operational objectives.

Personnel are continuing to work closely with structure protection staff from the Yellowhead County to assess and protect values within the Fickle Lake and Marlboro area. Due to the downturn in weather, staff can test apparatus that is currently installed to verify that they are operationally ready.

Crews will continue to work in this area alongside structure protection personnel from the Yellowhead County and Town of Edson today to ensure 100% extinguishment in this area.

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

Credit to: Sarah Hall, Pembina Complex. Wildfire Information Officer, BC Wildfire Service.

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

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.

Personnel on this fire were able to continue working on hot spots within the fire's perimeter and will continue to monitor activity in these locations today.

Overnight infrared aerial scans will continue to be completed over the coming days. Personnel use the infrared scan results to target and extinguish areas of the fire that are displaying residual heat. A flare up occurred along the northwest tip. This area of the fire is burning in highly flammable spruce. Once the temperature drops in the coming days and fire behaviour decreases, crews will work ahead of this area of the fire to establish control lines.

Small hot spots continue to be present well within the fire perimeter and do not pose a threat to nearby communities. The perimeter on the west side of the Brazeau Reservoir has remained quiet.

RWF040 is being 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 and remains classified as out of control. Infrared scans continue to be completed to help identify residual heat and help crews identify areas to target to ensure full extinguishment to 100 ft into the fire beyond the control lines. Crews were working on extinguishing minor hot spots within the fires perimeter and will continue to monitor activity in these locations.

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 644 wildfires burning a total of 1,450,208.25 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.