EDMONTON – A little over a week after issuing a province-wide fire ban and as a massive wildfire continues to burn near the Saskatchewan border, the Alberta government said Friday it was lifting the ban as well as off-highway vehicle restrictions in parts of the province.
The province said cooler and wetter weather in southern and southwestern Alberta prompted the ban to be lifted in some areas.
“The protection of Albertans and their communities from the threat of wildfire is our priority,” Oneil Carlier, minister of agriculture and forestry, said in a news release Friday evening. “Fortunately, the weather conditions in southern parts of Alberta have helped reduced the fire hazard. The fire hazard across the northern area of the province remains high to extreme, so the restrictions will remain in place. We ask all Albertans to please continue to exercise extreme caution with fires.”
READ MORE: Alberta-wide fire ban in place as extremely dry conditions sweep province
In the areas of the province where the fire ban remains in effect, all open fires are still prohibited and all fire permits remain suspended. Also, “incendiary targets” are still banned across the province for the entire fire season.
The government said municipalities or national parks may still have fire bans, restrictions or advisories in place. Municipalities that originally fell under the province-wide ban can still opt to enact their own fire bans, restrictions or advisories.
For the latest on fire bans, you can find more information here. For more information on off-highway vehicle restrictions, click here.
The following are rainfall totals over the past couple of days for some areas in southern and southwestern Alberta:
Banff
May 11 12.2mm
May 12 7mm
Bow Valley (Canmore)
May 11 8.8mm
May 12 11.6mm
Kananaskis
May 11 1mm
May 12 7.5mm
Jasper
May 11 4.7mm
May 12 0mm
Crowsnest
May 11 1mm
May 12 7.5mm
With files from Margeaux Morin
Comments