Rocky Mountain House Area Update

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

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

Minimal fire activity was observed on the Black Mountain Fire on July 27.

WILDFIRE SITUATION

RWF-038, Black Mountain Fire 

This wildfire was discovered on July 19 and is located 19 km west of Nordegg. It remains classified as being held at 480 hectares. View a map of the wildfire here.

The size of the Black Mountain Fire was adjusted today to reflect more accurate GPS information. As a result, the wildfire’s size estimate was reduced by 27 hectares. 

There are 70 wildland firefighters currently working on this wildfire. Two unit crews are from BC Wildfire, and three firetack crews and one helitack crew are from Alberta Wildfire. An Incident Management Team from Alberta Wildfire is managing the response to the wildfire. The crews are assisted by 11 helicopters.

Tomorrow, firefighters will continue to work on building a containment line around the wildfire's perimeter. Helicopters will support firefighters with bucketing operations. Heavy equipment operators are on standby. 

CLEARWATER COUNTY UPDATE 

The evacuation order has been lifted and an evacuation alert is now 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.

An evacuation alert means residents and the public in the areas should be packed and prepared to leave on short notice should the wildfire status change. This evacuation alert will remain in place until further wildfire control and containment is achieved.   

The Snow Creek and Dry Haven PRAs are currently closed to the public to allow for safe firefighting operations. There is no public access to Snow Creek Road or Haven Road. 

Watercrafts are not permitted on Goldeye Lake from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., to allow helicopters to safely scoop water from the lake. The area around the lake remains open to the public.

Please visit clearwatercounty.ca for more information from Clearwater County.

Please visit emergencyalert.alberta.ca or download the Alberta Emergency Alert App to view current alerts.  

Please visit 511 Alberta 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 518 hectares. 

Since January 1, there have been 687 wildfires in Alberta which have burned 101,863 hectares. 

A fire advisory is now in effect for the Rocky Mountain House Forest 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.