EDMONTON — Crews and equipment continued to work on the ground Wednesday, supported by helicopters bucketing water, to contain priority areas.
Parks Canada said favourable weather conditions continue helped in the battle against a wildfire burning 15 kilometres east of Jasper.
A National Incident Management Team is coordinating crews of approximately 70 fire fighters, six helicopters, high-volume sprinklers and other equipment to contain the fire.
The Town of Jasper was not at risk. Air quality has improved thanks to recent weather conditions.
Parks Canada said Wednesday the fire is still considered out of control.
On Saturday, Parks Canada said the size of the wildfire was 1,000 hectares.
“Favourable weather conditions will allow fire suppression activities to continue today with heli-bucketing and ground crews working to extinguish priority areas of the Excelsior Wildfire,” said a statement released Sunday afternoon.
It was sparked by lightning north of Medicine Lake near Excelsior Creek and was reported to Parks Canada around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Thursday evening, it was about 250 hectares in size. By Friday, Parks Canada officials said it had grown to 5,000 hectares but revised that estimate the next day.
“Until now, due to smoke and extreme fire behaviour, visibility was too poor for mapping and the fire was estimated at 5,000 hectares,” said a statement published Saturday night.
“It is not uncommon for estimates to be higher as they are based on straight lines and geographical features.”
A fire ban remained in place for all Mountain National Parks in Alberta, including Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks.
A total of 1,000 people were forced to evacuate the Maligne Valley area Thursday and Friday, most of which were day users. Parks Canada said about 82 of those people were taken out of the immediately affected areas – the Skyline Trail, Maligne Valley backcountry campground and Jacques Lake area.
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When the area received some rain overnight Friday into Saturday, it allowed crews to attack the fire from the ground for the first time.
Kim Weir, a fire communications officer with Jasper National Park, said she does not expect much fire growth over the next few days. As of early Saturday afternoon, three Parks Canada fire crews supported by six helicopters were fighting the wildfire, which was still classified as out-of-control.
On Monday, crews and equipment worked to extinguish priority areas of the Excelsior wildfire. Additional resources were expected to arrive later Monday and Tuesday to “support fire suppression activities.”
The Maligne Valley remained closed as crews continue to fight the blaze. There is no word on when the area might reopen.
In a post on the Jasper National Park Facebook page, officials said the rain and cooler conditions were also helping improve air quality.
“Air quality is improving thanks to recent weather conditions and forecast weather should mean reduced levels of smoke over the next few days. There is however still the potential for localized smoke. Please take this into consideration when planning your trip, especially if you have any existing respiratory concerns.”
Officials said no people or facilities were threatened or at risk.
As of Wednesday morning 96 wildfires were burning across Alberta. Of those, 13 are considered out of control.
READ MORE: Crews from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, U.S. in Alberta fighting wildfires
Monday, officials said all fires north of Meander have been contained and were not expected to grow given current weather conditions. Residents of Meander River – just north of High Level – remain on an evacuation alert.
Meanwhile, a wildfire burning 50 kilometres west of High Level remained out of control. More than 190 firefighters were battling the 280-square-kilometre fire, which is about one-quarter contained.
With files from The Canadian Press
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