Whitecourt Forest Area Wildfire Update

The fire danger is low. Wildfires can still ignite in cooler conditions. Make sure to fully extinguish your campfire.

Fire permits are no longer required until March 1. Keep in mind that safe burning practices are always in season. Check your winter burns often and ensure they're fully extinguished.

To report smoke or flame in the forest please call 310-FIRE (3473).

SMOKE CONCERNS

If you have any health concerns related to smoke in the area please call 811 or visit the air quality health index for more information.

Be mindful of the weather and avoid burning when an inversion is in place as it can keep smoke laying low around communities and roadways.

WHAT IS AN INVERSION?

As temperatures start to cool early in the evening, the air closest to the earth’s surface will cool faster than the air above the surface. This is opposite of what air normally does. Normally air cools with the increase of height above the surface. The heat from the surface of the land is radiated back up into the atmosphere, warming the air above this shallow area near the ground, and since cold air is denser than warm air, the areas near the surface become colder than above.

The inversion happens when cold air is trapped near the ground by warmer air. The cool air near the surface cannot escape upwards and this creates a layer in which smoke from winter burning is trapped along the ground surface as it cannot mix out and rise.

If you're burning near a roadway ensure you have proper signage for the smoke in the area and try to burn in stages.

FIRE PERMITS ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED

Fire permits are no longer required until March 1 but please keep safe winter burning practices in mind. These practices include:

Carefully select your burn site and do not burn until you have good snow cover in the area.
Check weather conditions and refrain from burning when an inversion is in place or is forecasted.
Actively manage burn projects to reduce total burning time.
Burn debris in stages so that you can adapt to changing weather conditions and reduce smoke.
Ensure you have the right tools, water and equipment on hand to keep the burn under control.
Consult your local municipality on how to safely undertake larger winter burning projects near communities or roads.

Due to the lack of snow in the Whitecourt Forest Area any burning on the landscape has the potential to dig deep into the ground creating holdover fires. Holdover fires are fires that are not properly extinguished and will burn underground. When conditions are right these fires can start up again in the spring creating a wildfire. We ask that you kindly wait to start any winter burning until there is at least 15 cm of snow on the ground.

Find more information on winter burning.

RECRUITMENT

Positions are open for the 2025 wildfire season. Join our team today!

If you're interested in being a crew member please visit the crew member posting. If being a crew leader/sub-leader interests you please visit the crew leader/sub-leader posting.

The closing date for crew members is November 30 and the crew leader/sub-leader applications will remain open until suitable candidates are found.

For more information and positions visit the recruitment page on our website.

GET YOUR TREE HARVESTING PERMIT

Personal Use Forest Products Permits are for small-scale personal use only (no resale) for Christmas trees, firewood or transplants. These free permits are available online or in person at your nearest forestry office.

PUFPPs authorize Albertans to cut and removed timber from designated Crown land only. The area-specific PUFPP document must be with you at all times while cutting or transporting trees from Crown land. In one 30-day period, a person can hold up to 4 permits – up to one permit each for: firewood, Christmas trees, roundwood and transplants.

LOCAL WILDFIRE INFORMATION

Subscribe to Whitecourt Forest Area updates to receive an email notification when new information is posted.

Download the Alberta Wildfire App for Apple or Android devices. Once you open the app, click the "i" icon at the bottom left to view the latest forest area updates.

For more information, please contact:

selfie hubspot colby