Heavy rain helps tame wildfire danger in parts of Alberta
Province isn't out of the clear, as Alberta Wildfire warns of fire risks on Canada Day
Heavy rain over the past week has helped lower wildfire risk in Alberta, but wildfire officials warn that many regions remain on high alert.
Environment Canada reported Sunday that total rainfall amounts of more than 100 millimetres have been reported since Friday, with the heaviest rain falling along the foothills and over parts of eastern Alberta.
Josee St-Onge, an Alberta Wildfire information officer, said the wildfire risk in central and southern Alberta is now much lower.
"We didn't have wildfires burning in the south, but we did in central Alberta, and they've received a lot of moisture, so that's good for firefighters," she said.
"On a really large wildfire, that's not necessarily enough to extinguish it because the fires are very large and sometimes they burn really deeply into the ground. But it gives us a really good window to make progress."
Areas in far northern Alberta are experiencing extremely dry and warm temperatures, St-Onge said.
St-Onge said thunder showers could bring lightning that could start new wildfires.
Major wildfires that forced residents to evacuate for several weeks remain active for the communities of Chipewyan Lake, Peerless and Trout Lake, Red Earth Creek and Loon River First Nation.
Known as the Red Earth East complex and composed of 10 wildfires centred in the northeastern portion of the Slave Lake Forest Area, it one of the largest in the province. Located near Red Earth Creek and Loon Lake First Nation, it is classified as out of control and is about 78,000 hectares in size as of Sunday.
About 670,000 hectares of land has burned since the start of wildfire season on March 1.
Currently, there are 54 active wildfires burning in the province as of noon Monday. Of those, 27 are considered out of control and four are considered held.
The majority of central and southern Alberta remain under fire advisories, including parts of Edmonton and the fire danger risk is hovering between low and moderate for the rest of the week.
St-Onge also warns about the dangers that some Canada Day celebration might pose.
While she said it should take some time for wildfire danger to crawl back up to high, because of the time it takes for precipitation to evaporate, temperatures in Edmonton and surrounding regions are expected to warm up significantly later this week.
"Every time we have a long weekend or a holiday, we do see an increase in human caused wildfires, often from abandoned campfires or campfires that aren't extinguished properly," she said.
"We also want to remind people that like to celebrate Canada Day with fireworks, that fireworks are not permitted on Crown land unless you have written permission from a forest officer."
