There are four wildfires of note in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta.
HCX001 - Semo Complex
Wildfires HWF053, HWF061, HWF081, HWF083 are part of the Semo Complex. All of these wildfires are out of control.
HWF061 is the largest wildfire in the complex and is 46,280 hectares in size. It is located 21 km northeast of Jon D'or Prairie, 17 km north of Fox Lake, 30 km northwest of Garden River and 8 km from Highway 58. It was caused by lightning.
Heavy equipment is working on the southeast side to build containment lines and crews will support the operators by extinguishing hotspots as they move north. Operators on the west side are building extra dozer guard lines and will move to priority areas when complete. Crews are seeing deep burning in some areas, and they will have to use pumps and hose along with hand tools to dig deep and extinguish the hotspots. Additional dozer guards are being created for firefighters and equipment for safety as needed. Helicopters will continue to bucket along priority areas along the south perimeter to support ground crews.
There are 210 firefighters and support staff, eight helicopters and 24 pieces of heavy equipment working on this complex. An incident management team is overseeing operations.
See the High Level Forest Area update for more information.
MCX002 - Cattail Lake Complex
Wildfires MWF046, MWF047, MWF048, MWF051, MWF054 and MWF077 are part of the Cattail Lake Complex.
Wildfires MWF047 and MWF077 are out of control. Wildfires MWF046, MWF048, MWF051 and MWF054 are under control. They were caused by lightning.
MWF047 is the largest wildfire in this complex and is 67,000 hectares in size.
This wildfire remains about 8 km northeast of industrial facilities, 50 km northeast Fort McKay and 70 km northeast of Fort McMurray.
MWF077 is 4,500 hectares in size. This wildfire showed extreme fire behaviour yesterday and experienced significant growth.
Firefighters continue to work along the west and south perimeter. We expect today's operations to be hampered by heavy smoke. Helicopters will continue to bucket, as long as visibility permits. Heavy smoke typically increases the relative humidity, which helps to keep fire behaviour lower.
There are 250 firefighters and support staff, 18 helicopters and 16 pieces of heavy equipment working on this complex. An incident management team is overseeing operations.
See the Fort McMurray Forest Area update for more information.
MCX003 - Algar Lake Complex
Wildfire MWF069 makes up the Algar Lake Complex. It is out of control and is 14,500 hectares in size. It is located 11 km west of Highway 63 and 40 km southwest of Fort McMurray.
Yesterday, this fire showed extreme fire behaviour and grew significantly. We expect extreme fire behaviour again today.
Firefighters are working in strategic locations along the perimeter to contain this wildfire. Yesterday, a structure protection team worked to protect critical infrastructure near the complex.
There are 78 firefighters and 14 helicopters working on this complex. An incident management team is scheduled to arrive from Ontario tomorrow to oversee operations.
See the Fort McMurray Forest Area update for more information.
MWF060 - Rabbit Lake Wildfire
MWF060 is located approximately 8 km east of the Slave Lake Forest Area border and the Fort McMurray Forest Area border. It is classified as out of control and is 4,750 hectares in size. It was caused by lightning. There are 20 firefighters and five helicopters working to contain this fire.
See the Fort McMurray Forest Area update for more information.
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