Traffic was moving again along the Trans-Canada Highway Saturday morning after a grass fire east of Canmore, Alta., led to a shutdown of the road Friday.
Highway 1 has reopened but additional closures are possible, Alberta Wildfire said.
The fire, which broke out just before 5 p.m. Aug. 13, burned 10 hectares of land within two hours and was classified as out of control, according to Alberta Wildfire.
“Given initial reports, our incident commander has requested additional resources from AB Forestry and a water tender from Kananaskis FD,” Canmore Fire Rescue said on Twitter.
At 8:30 p.m., Canmore Fire Rescue said air suppression of the fire would continue until sunset, and ground crews would remain at the fire through the night.
“There is some infrastructure in the area, including a resort and power lines, but they are not threatened at this time,” Alberta Wildfire spokesperson Josee St-Onge said.
“Firefighting crews, air tankers and helicopters are currently fighting this wildfire, with more resources on their way.”
In photos and videos sent to Global News and posted to social media, large plumes of smoke could be seen wafting across the highway as traffic drove through.
The Canmore Firefighters Association said just after 6 p.m. that crews were circling the town of Canmore, preparing to drop water and flame retardant material.
According to the RCMP, the call about the fire first came in at about 4:30 p.m., and RCMP as well as firefighters were at the scene fighting the flames from both the ground and air.
“(The) Canmore RCMP investigation is ongoing.”
At about 6:15 p.m., Canmore Fire Rescue said the highway closure was causing traffic to back up as far as the Parks Canada gate outside of Banff.
St-Onge said it was a human-caused blaze.
“There was minimal spread overnight, but the wildfire has an active interior, fueled by hot and windy conditions. Wind is blowing from the west today at 20 km/h, with gusts between 20 and 40 km/h. The temperature is forecasted to reach 32 C,” she said Saturday.
“At this time, no infrastructure has been lost or directly threatened by this wildfire. There are buildings (resort) and critical infrastructure (power lines) in the area. The closest buildings are approximately 12 km away.”
More than 25 firefighters, three helicopters and air tankers were working to contain the wildfire, St-Onge said.
“The fire danger in the Calgary Forest Area, where this wildfire is located, is extreme. In these conditions, a wildfire can start easily and spread very quickly,” she said.
“We ask all Albertans to do their part to prevent wildfires. Last year, 88 per cent of wildfires were human caused. There is currently a fire ban in place for the entire Calgary Forest Area, which means that outdoor campfires are not allowed.”
Alberta Wildfire tweeted Saturday evening that the fire was being held and its size was revised to six hectares.
– With files from Kaylen Small
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