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 43,995 hectares in size. It is located 20 km northeast of Jon D'or Prairie, 19 km north of Fox Lake, 30 km northwest of Garden River and 9 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. Firefighters are finding deep hotspots and will need to use water and hand tools to dig them up and fully extinguish them. Helicopters continue to bucket along the south perimeter to help prevent the spread.
There are over 150 firefighters and support staff, 11 helicopters and 43 pieces of heavy equipment working on this complex. An incident management team is overseeing operations. Additional resources will be added in the coming days.
See the High Level Forest Area update for more information.
MCX002 - Cattail Lake Complex
Wildfires MWF047 and MWF077 are part of the Cattail Lake Complex. Both of these wildfires are out of control. These wildfires were caused by lightning.
MWF047 is the largest wildfire in this complex and is 76,081 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. Crews continue to work towards strengthening the south and west perimeter of the wildfire. Helicopters continue to bucket on hotspots identified by crews.
MWF077 is 5,481 hectares in size. Extreme fire behaviour is expected in the next few days.
Crews continue to work towards strengthening the south and west perimeter of the wildfire. Helicopters continue to bucket on hotspots identified by crews.
There are 269 firefighters and support staff, 20 helicopters and 30 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.
Today, crews will focus on the northeast corner of the wildfire perimeter. Helicopters continue to work on extinguishing hotspots and completing bucketing operations where required. Heavy equipment continues to work on the east of the fire on containment lines.
There are 145 firefighters and support staff, seven helicopters and heavy equipment assigned to this complex. An incident management team is overseeing operations.
See the Fort McMurray Forest Area update for more information.
MWF060 - Rabbit Lake Wildfire
Wildfire MWF060, MWF078, and MWF074 make up this complex. 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 collectively 4,870.2 hectares in size (MWF060 - 4,750 ha, MWF078 - 120 ha, MWF074 - 0.2 ha).
Heavy equipment has been working on the fire guard along the northeast perimeter. Helicopters were successful at limiting spread from this wildfire yesterday. 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