Wildfires and fire risk across northern and central Alberta are keeping fire bans in place in several areas. While Edmonton is not under a fire ban, several communities outside the city have advisories and restrictions in place, including Strathcona Country, the city of St. Albert and the County of Wetaskiwin, which are under fire advisories, and Sturgeon County, Parkland County, Beaver County, Lamont County and Elk Island National Park, which are under fire restrictions. West and north of Edmonton, Alberta’s Forest Protection Area is under a fire ban as are communities in Peace Country, Westlock County and Athabasca County, and near Lac La Biche and Cold Lake. Crews across the boreal forest that makes up most of northern Alberta and in several central areas have been using heavy equipment, helicopters and airtankers among other things to limit the spread of wildfire, according to Alberta Wildfire. Weather Forecasts across central and northern Alberta by Environment Canada call for warm weather and no precipitation for much of the week. In Grande Prairie, High Level, Slave Lake, Fort McMurray, Hinton, Edson and Edmonton, temperatures will range from the low to mid 20s. Showers are forecast for Edson and Edmonton on Thursday night, with cloud and possible rain for northern and central areas by Friday. “It’s important to note that the weather in parts of the province, while we’ve seen some decent rainfall especially in the northeast, places like the High Level, Peace River and Grande Prairie areas, they haven’t seen the same level of precipitation (as others),” Derrick Forsythe, an information officer for Alberta Wildfire, told CTV News Edmonton on Sunday. “It’s still really dry. It’s windy. Conditions are extreme in a lot of those places.” Wildfires of note There are 59 wildfires burning in Alberta Sunday afternoon, 27 of them under control, 22 out of control and 10 being held. Red Earth East Several fires make up the Red Earth East complex, the most active being one near Red Earth Creek that’s 604 square kilometres in size and another on the west side of Peerless Lake along Highway 686 at 79 square kilometres. The complex, located 350 kilometres north of Edmonton, is in the northeastern corner of the Slave Lake Forest Area. Others include one near Chipewyan Lakes (1,322 square kilometres) and another near the community of Peerless Lake that’s 7.7 square kilometres. Communities in the area of the Red Earth East complex that are under evacuation orders are Chipewyan Lake, Peerless Lake, Trout Lake, Red Earth Creek and Loon River First Nation. Kiskatinaw River This out-of-control wildfire near Kelly Lake, B.C., has crossed into Alberta and is 131 square kilometres in size. Wind from the south and southeast spurred more fire activity early Sunday morning, Alberta Wildfire said. Alberta fire crews are working with their counterparts from B.C. and with the County of Grande Prairie on it. The fire is about 75 kilometres west of Grande Prairie and about 450 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Late Sunday afternoon, the county expanded its evacuation order to include people north of Township Road 700 to Highway 43 east of the B.C. border to Range Road 130. Slims Creek This wildfire burning just west of Highway 35 about halfway between Peace River and High Level 65 kilometres north of Manning is 49 square kilometres and grew significantly on Saturday because of wind, Alberta Wildfire said on Sunday. The County of Northern Lights has put people living north of Hawk Hills and near the Twin Lakes Provincial Park on an evacuation alert. The fire is about 150 kilometres south of High Level and about 480 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Tulip Lake Rain and cooler weather helped fire crews on Saturday and Sunday with the Tulip Lake wildfire burning 15 km northeast of Fort Fitzgerald and 28 km east of Fort Smith, N.W.T. The out-of-control wildfire grew by nine square kilometres to 141 square kilometres on Sunday. The fire is about 725 kilometres northeast of Edmonton. Crews are building a containment line south of Highway 58 on the northwest side of the fire. Sousa Creek Alberta Wildfire said this wildfire five kilometres south of the Chateh community grew by 16 square kilometres to 412 square kilometres on Sunday. Chateh is 72 kilometres west of High Level and 650 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Caribou Lake Residents of Conklin are on evacuation alert as the 668-square-kilometre Caribou Lake wildfire burns out of control near the hamlet in northeastern Alberta. Alberta Wildfire had crews working overnight on the northwest side of the wildfire, and said crews will focus on the north and south sides of the wildfire, which are the closest to infrastructure. Conklin is 122 kilometres south of Fort McMurray and 279 kilometres northeast of Edmonton. Blue Sky This out-of-control wildfire just southeast of Utikuma Lake, 25 kilometres north of Marten Beach on Lesser Slave Lake and 260 kilometres northwest of Edmonton is 104 square kilometres. Alberta Wildfire says that while this fire’s behaviour is low, there was increased fire activity on its northern side on Saturday afternoon.
