Rocky Mountain House Area Update

The wildfire danger in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area continues to be MODERATE. 

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

(Early morning safety briefings between Alberta Wildfire and British Columbia crews, July 25).

WILDFIRE SITUATION

RWF-038, The Black Mountain Fire: 

This wildfire was discovered on July 19, located 19km west of Nordegg. It remains classified as  BEING HELD at approximately 507 hectares. View the area map here.

There are currently 73 wildland firefighters including one Agency Representative imported from British Columbia and two unit crews. As well as three Firetack crews, one Helitack crew and three wildfire support staff. The Incident Management Team is performing wildfire operations. We also have three heavy equipment groups and three dozer bosses. There are 11 helicopters bucketing on the wildfire today. 

Tomorrow, helicopters will continue working on the wildfire from the air performing bucketing operations. Heavy equipment will continue to gain ground access and build a fire guard. The dozers will be working along the southeast and southwest flank of the fire. There will be helicopters, heavy equipment, and wildland firefighters working on the wildfire. 

Tomorrow's weather for the wildfire will be 23 degrees with winds coming from the northeast at 10 km/h later in the day. There is no expected precipitation for RWF038 tonight.

Structure protection is in place for the Dry Haven area, Centre of Education, Frontier Lodge, and Goldeye Lake structures. 

CLEARWATER COUNTY UPDATE: 

The Evacuation Order remains in place for Snow Creek Public Recreation Area (PRA), Dry Haven PRA, Centre for Outdoor Education, Fish Lake PRA, Frontier Lodge, Goldeye Centre, Goldeye Lake PRA and area. This Evacuation Order will remain in place until further wildfire control and containment is achieved. Traffic control and access closures in remain in place in the area of the Evacuation Order.  

With this change in fire status to Being Held, the Evacuation Alert for Nordegg has now been lifted.

For more information please visit the Clearwater County website by clicking this link https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/

Please visit emergencyalert.alberta.ca or download the Alberta Emergency Alert App for additional information.  

Please visit 511 for the most up-to-date information on any roadway closures in the area. 

Since January 1, there have been 42 wildfires in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area which have burned 545 hectares. 

Since January 1, there have been 682 wildfires in Alberta which have burned 99,309 hectares. There is one wildfire of note in the Rocky Mountain Forest Protection Area of Alberta at this time.

A fire advisory is now in effect for the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area section of the Forest Protection Area due to current and forecasted weather conditions. Fine fuels and wooden debris are very dry and could ignite easily from any spark, friction or hot exhaust. Use extreme caution when working or recreating outdoors. 

At this time, there are no changes to existing permits but any new permits will be considered on a case by case basis.

The public and residents in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area can continue to use a fire pit, charcoal briquettes on a barbecue, or a safe campfire and recreational off-highway vehicles. When recreating in the backcountry make sure your campfire is completely extinguished by soaking the ashes, stirring them and soaking them again.

The fire advisory will remain in place until conditions improve.

NEW WILDFIRE DASHBOARD

The new 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.