It’s hot, dry and windy in Alberta — the perfect recipe for fire conditions to blow up.
For that reason, Alberta Wildfire has issued a red flag watch: a rarely-heard-of term indicating an increased risk for fire danger due to warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds.
“We put that in effect when conditions are such that we have crossover — where the surface temperature is higher than the relative humidity, which means fuels are going to dry out really quickly and they’re more susceptible to burning at a rapid rate than if it was a cool, damp day,” said Alberta Wildfire information officer Derrick Forsythe.
“Couple that with sustained winds of 20 to 30 km and that gives us conditions for active wildfires.
“What it means is that if a wildfire does start, the likelihood that it can grow and spread more rapidly is greater.”
Late Wednesday, a mandatory evacuation was issued for Chipewyan Lake, west of Fort McMurray. Not far away, those living in Red Earth Creek were also ordered to leave, as were residents in Loon Lake, Peerless Lake and Trout Lake.
Alberta adopted the red flag watch and warning system from the National Weather Service in the United States, and said it’s “intended to provide situational awareness messaging for wildfire personnel and the public that a hazardous fire environment is developing and reinforce the need for heightened vigilance.”
Forsythe said Alberta sees such conditions from time to time during the summer but there’s specific metrics required for a red flag watch.
“We’ve seen those triggers be met as of yesterday, so that’s why we issued the watch.”
Basically, it’s a warning to Albertans to be even more careful about fire safety and a heads up for emergency crews to prepare.
“Our moisture is still pretty low, which means that we can get wildfires triggering a little bit easier now than we can, say, if our moisture humidity is a little higher potentially in mid- to late-July. Not that it’s not possible then as well, but this is a concern, especially for tomorrow,” Environment Canada meteorologist Alysa Pederson said on Wednesday.
She likened the conditions expected in the next 24 hours to what Alberta experienced on Monday when thunderstorms rolled across the province — but amplified.
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Similar storms are expected Thursday night, after two days of 30 C weather and high winds.
“After Monday’s event, there are a lot more wildfires that were likely triggered by lightning,” Pederson said. “That is a big concern: when we’re hot and dry like this, thunderstorm activity can trigger wildfires.
“The lightning can trigger wildfires, especially in remote locations right across the province.”
On Thursday, Environment Canada forecasts an elongated cold front — essentially from southern Alberta right through to the north of the province — with severe thunderstorms developing as it moves west to east, affecting much of the province, including Edmonton. Strong winds and hail are expected, along with lightning.
“After that cold front moves through, cooler air is going to usher in,” Pederson said, adding the 30 C temperatures that prompted extreme heat warnings are out of the norm for this time of year. More rain is expected over the weekend as well.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there were 45 active wildfires in Alberta, many of which broke out in recent days. Four of those are wildfires of note.
Alberta Wildfire said the new blazes that broke out in recent days align with the path of Monday’s thunderstorm.
“There’s a kind of a diagonal line of new fires that started in the Slave Lake forest area, that are kind of going from the lower left to the upper right,” Forsythe said. “That tracks with that weather system that went through.”
He said while Alberta Wildfire hasn’t yet investigated every fire, so the definite cause of some isn’t known, historically many fires start that way.
“There’s been a high correlation between tons of lightning strikes on the ground and then a follow-along a day or day and a half later, two days later, of new starts popping up.”
Cenovus sends staff home due to nearby fire
A wildfire near Winefred Lake in the Lac La Biche region has prompted Cenovus Energy to scale down oil and gas operations on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range to only what is essential.
The fire is burning about 14 km to the north.
Cenovus said it has sent home non-essential staff from its Foster Creek facility: a SAGD energy plant with several camps nearby, located about 330 km northeast of Edmonton. Hundreds of workers left Tuesday night, and only a handful of staff remain on site Wednesday.
“We are closely monitoring the evolving wildfire situation,” Cenovus told Global News. “Our priority is the safety of our people and those fighting wildfires.”
That out-of-control wildfire broke out on Monday, May 26, and the cause is not yet known, but it has grown rapidly. It was between 3,000 and 4,000 hectares Wednesday morning but by the afternoon, had nearly doubled in size to over 7,200 and was the largest in Alberta.
“The oil and gas infrastructure is everywhere — you’d be surprised how much is up there,” Forsythe said of the remote area northeast of Lac La Biche dotted with energy operations.
“It’s not a secret, people just don’t think it would be there because it’s an air weapons range.”
In addition to oil and gas infrastructure located within 20 km of both the north and south perimeter of the wildfire, Alberta Wildfire said there are recreational fishing lodges in the remote area, but no major communities are impacted.
Forsythe said the military is very cooperative when firefighting crews have to move in to deal with wildfires.
Wildfire crews, airtankers, helicopters and heavy equipment are working on the wildfire. Overnight, heavy equipment crews worked on a fireguard toward the north perimeter of the wildfire. Airtankers are dropping retardant to build a containment line on the southeast side of the fire perimeter.
Swan Hills fire update
On Monday, 1,300 people who live in the town of Swan Hills were ordered to leave due to a fire north of that community in the Slave Lake region. The 3,600-hectare Edith Lake wildfire is still seven km north of town, but has jumped Highway 33 to the north on Tuesday.
Firefighters, supported by helicopters, airtankers and heavy equipment, are working on that blaze. Night vision-equipped helicopters and heavy equipment also worked overnight to strengthen containment lines and help with ongoing suppression efforts.
The evacuation order remains in effect for the Town of Swan Hills.
“The reports I’ve got is that the community is not under direct threat from the wildfire at this time,” Forsythe said.
“We’ve got (a fire) guard up the west side and on the south side, and we’re working on the east side now to establish a fire guard.”
A fire restriction remains in effect across Alberta’s boreal forest.
The latest details on all the wildfires burning in Alberta is available online at alberta.ca/wildfire.
Details on all the burning bans and restrictions in place across Alberta are available online at albertafirebans.ca.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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