There is one wildfire of note in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta.
Fire number: MWF031
Status: Being held
Size: 14,453 hectares (ha)
Location: 21 km north of Fort Chipewyan
Infrastructure nearby: Remote cabins
Resources assigned: Incident Management Team, ignition specialist, structure protection specialist and crews, 41 firefighters, and six helicopters.
Comments: This wildfire is actively managed and monitored by firefighters on a daily basis and is not threatening any communities at this time. Increased fire activity is expected today. Temperatures are expected to reach 30°C with relative humidity around 20% or lower. These conditions could be challenging for firefighters. Winds are expected from the southeast at 20 km/h and gusting to 30 km/h, which will push the wildfire to the northwest, away from the community of Fort Chipewyan.
A successful large scale ignition burn was conducted Wednesday evening and more ignitions are planned for the evenings when conditions allow. The goal of these ignitions is to tie the wildfire to natural fuel breaks in an attempt to prevent the wildfire from moving south. Airtankers have been assisting with wildfire operations, dropping retardant and building the containment line on the southwest corner. This containment line is located along a natural break which is between Flett Lake, Little Rapids and towards the boundary of Wood Buffalo National Park. It's intended to prevent the wildfire from spreading south. These airtankers continue to be available as required.
Firefighters will continue to extinguish hot spots on the southern flank of the wildfire, assisted by helicopter bucketing operations. Structure protection specialists will continue deploying equipment such as pumps, hoses and sprinkler systems on buildings identified as being in the path of the wildfire. A crew of firefighters was deployed yesterday to Flett Lake to search for and extinguish hotspots near infrastructure. Another group of firefighters worked with the structure protection specialists assessing and deploying equipment such as pumps, hoses and sprinkler systems on buildings identified as being directly threatened by the wildfire. This work is expected to continue in the coming days. Additional structure protection equipment and six crew members arrived yesterday morning. The structure protection plan is now complete for the community of Allison Bay. The protection plan for Fort Chipewyan and the airport is currently being drafted.
This wildfire is located in a wildfire management zone and will be allowed to safely play its natural role on the landscape on its northern flank, away from the community of Fort Chipewyan. Using this wildfire management strategy has many benefits. It re-introduces fire onto the landscape, creates a break in the continuous fuels, reduces the intensity of the fire, provides safety zones for our firefighting crews to work from and reduces the cost of fighting these wildfires.
This information will be updated tomorrow by 11 a.m.
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