A wildfire burning at night. Photo courtesy of Alberta Wildfire.
Fire danger is growing from very high to extreme in many northern areas of the province. A wildfire can still start easily and spread quickly in these conditions.
As of Sunday evening, there are 89 active wildfires in the Forest Protection Area, with 25 classified as out of control.
There are 14 Evacuation orders in effect Sunday night with the Number of evacuees at 19,342
New information:
- The province is working with local authorities in the County of Grande Prairie and the City of Grande Prairie to construct a fireguard around the city of Grande Prairie.
- Additionally, the province along with local authorities with the Municipal District of Greenview are working to establish a fireguard around Little Smoky and along Highway 43.
- Fireguards are barriers that are created by removing trees and other vegetation – essentially getting rid of the fuel for the fire.
- Firefighters have been working hard preparing for more challenging conditions, building breaks around communities and making use of fresh firefighters coming in from outside the province.
- More than 800 wildland firefighters have come from British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario, the Yukon, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Oregon, Alaska, Washington, Montana and Parks Canada. This includes 200 wildland firefighters who recently arrived from the United States and are being deployed.
- Canadian Armed Forces assist by providing personnel, resources, and basic firefighting roles; airlift resources for mobility and logistical tasks, including the evacuation of isolated communities; and engineering support, including heavy equipment resources, as capacity allows.
- An additional 100 soldiers will be deployed in the coming days.
- Alberta RCMP are patrolling and monitoring evacuated communities, using a variety of tools and resources to minimize crime in affected areas
- Those evacuated due to wildfires should register at local reception center’s or at emergencyregistration.alberta.ca.
- Due to hot and dry conditions this upcoming week, we are expecting to see more extreme wildfire behaviour. It is extremely important for Albertans to respect the fire bans and off-highway vehicle restrictions in place to help reduce human-caused wildfires.
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