There are two wildfires of note in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta.
MCX002 - Cattail Lake Complex
There are several wildfires that are all being managed together under MCX002. This includes MWF046, MWF047, MWF048, MWF051, MWF054 and MWF055. All of these wildfires are classified as under control, except for MWF047. All of these wildfires were caused by lightning.
MWF047 is the largest wildfire that's included in this complex, is approximately 14,000 ha in size and is classified as out of control.
This wildfire is approximately 8 km northeast of industrial facilities, about 50 km northeast Fort McKay and 70 km northeast of Fort McMurray. Yesterday, there was no significant growth towards any infrastructure.
There are 195 personnel currently working on this complex; There are 89 firefighters, and the rest include support staff and contractors. We have 17 helicopters and 36 pieces of heavy equipment working day and night operations.
Smoke in the area coming from other wildfires around Alberta, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia reduced the fire behavior yesterday. The smoke increased the humidity, which worked to our advantage in avoiding significant wildfire spread.
Smoky conditions impacted visibility over the past few days, however; this morning operations are expected to resume as normal.
Today, and the next few days are expected to be challenging for our operational efforts. We anticipate crossover conditions, which suggests we will likely see extreme fire behaviour.
Overnight operations continue with crews working on completing the containment lines on the west and south sides of this wildfire.
Today, we expect a high of 32 degrees Celsius with a southwest wind of 15 km/h. Later in the afternoon, the winds are expected to shift to the south at 20 km/h. We could also see gusts up to 35 km/h near midnight.
HCX001 - Semo Wildfire Complex
There are several wildfires that make up the Semo Wildfire Complex. This includes HWF053, HWF061, HWF081, HWF083.
The Semo Wildfire Complex is located north of John D'Or Prairie, Garden River and Fox Lake. It includes the Caribou Mountains Wildland Provincial Park, between the Ponton and the Wentzel River. These wildfires are currently being managed by an incident management team. Additional resources have been requested and will be arriving in the coming days.
HWF061 is the largest of the wildfires. It currently burning OUT OF CONTROL 27 km northeast of Jon D'or Prairie, 22 km north of Fox Lake and 32 km northwest of Garden River. At this time the fire does not pose a threat to any community. The closest part of the wildfire is approximately 12 km from highway 58.The wildfire is now estimated to be 19,130 ha in size and caused by lightning.
Heavy equipment operators continue both day and night to the south perimeter of the fire to gain better access. Helicopters will continue to bucket along priority areas. Night vision helicopters worked this fire overnight to extinguish hotspots. Firefighters will begin actioning the fire when safe zones are completed and are ready to access. A weather inversion is keeping smoke low on the fire and it’s making it difficult for access. With smoke hanging over the fire it provides shading from the sun and can lessen fire behaviour but high temperatures will still create fire growth. Airtankers will be used when they can be effective to aid in wildfire operations.
There are 112 firefighters and support staff, eight helicopters and 18 pieces of heavy equipment assigned to the Semo Complex. Additional resources are on the way to support firefighting activities.
Today, the weather forecast is calling for temperatures of 26C with a relative humidity of 40% with winds out of the northwest-northeast at 10-15 km/h.
A wildfire of note is determined to be of significant public interest and may pose a threat to public safety, communities or critical infrastructure.
Wildfires of note do not typically include mutual aid wildfires located outside of the Forest Protection Area of Alberta. Alberta Wildfire provides assistance on a mutual aid wildfire but is not the lead agency.
The Forest Protection Area of Alberta is divided into ten forest areas. Find the latest updates for each area or subscribe to receive them in your inbox.
Rocky Mountain House Forest Area