Wildfire risk high in Alberta as hot, dry conditions persist

The hot and dry weather in much of Alberta is creating the perfect conditions for wildfires to ignite and spread.

“We are expecting the high fire danger to continue as long as this hot and dry spell continues as well,” said Josee St-Onge, provincial information officer with Alberta Wildfire.

The heightened risk is affecting most of the province — in the boreal forest and along the southern part of the Rocky Mountains.

“Some of that is typical for this time of year, especially dryness in the south of the province, but that does mean that we’re not going to be on high alert,” St-Onge said.

“We have crews positioned in strategic areas throughout the province to be able to respond to wildfires quickly, and we do expect more fire activity in the coming week.”

As of Friday afternoon, there were 64 wildfires burning in Alberta — 37 are held, 23 are under control and four are out of control.

The official wildfire season starts March 1 and ends Oct 31.

“We’re prepared for wildfires year round,” she said.

“They do happen in the fall, we see winter fires as well, so we always have the resources in place to be able to fight new starts.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said a wet spring delayed the start of wildfire season this year, but now a good chunk of Alberta is below normal precipitation amounts.

“There’s a really good chance we’re not going to make it up to normal amounts for August for precipitation for the central Alberta area,” said ECCC warning preparedness meteorologist Natalie Hasell.

“You could have dry lightning strike hitting a place that has not gotten any precipitation and everything around is therefore just kindling. It’s a pretty widespread concern when we’re talking about these conditions, because even the thunderstorms that bring some precipitation could still make the situation worse.”

Earlier this week, Edmonton saw smoky conditions caused by fires here and in neighbouring provinces.

“Smoke and heat together is a particularly difficult combination and we do see that in the forecast as you have hot conditions (Friday) and then hot conditions returning next week,” Hasell said.

Alberta Wildfire noted at this time last year there were more total wildfires, but they burned fewer hectares of forest. This year there’s been fewer wildfires, but they’ve burned more forest area.

“That’s because we’ve seen a lot of starts that have been in very isolated areas, remote forests, so we’re allowing them to burn naturally on the landscape under supervision — just to rejuvenate the forest and let fire play its natural course,” St-Onge said.

About two-thirds of the wildfires in Alberta are human-caused, so being extra cautious right now is key.

“Albertans can help us out by making sure that they’re following any fire ban or restriction that’s in place,” St-Onge said.