Black Mountain wildfire in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area in 2022 (Photo submitted by Melissa Story)
Across the province, wildfires continue to burn even as Alberta heads into winter.
The average temperatures have just been below zero, and most of the province has seen little to no snow because of an El Niño, a weather phenomenon in the southern Pacific Ocean that has caused warmer-than-average temperatures for most of Canada and the Pacific Northwest, according to The Weather Network.
As a result, the conversation around wildfires in Alberta continues after a historic wildfire season in 2023, even though the standard wildfire season ended on Oct. 31.
1,119 wildfires burned 2.2 million hectares of forest in 2023, according to Melissa Story, the Provincial Information Officer with Alberta Wildfire. 22 new wildfires have been reported since Oct. 31, and as of Dec. 1, 68 wildfires continue to burn.
A majority of the 68 currently burning wildfires remain in-control, with the others being listed as “being held,” meaning they are not fully under control but are not expected to grow. No out-of-control wildfires are burning in Alberta as of Dec. 1.
Listen to the interview with Melissa Story below:
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