Large grass fire breaks out in west Edmonton along Anthony Henday Drive

A thick plume of smoke could be seen across much of west Edmonton Monday afternoon, after a grass fire broke out along Anthony Henday Drive near 111 Avenue.

Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said crews responded at 3:20 p.m. to a fire originating at 184 Street and 105 Avenue.

Nine units, or about 36 firefighters, were dispatched with the first arriving on scene at 3:35 p.m.

The fire was burning through a grove of trees and in a grassy area between the Henday and 184 Street, between 105 and 111 avenues.

As of 5 p.m., the Henday was closed between Stony Plain Road and the Yellowhead, traffic was being diverted off the freeway at both of those interchanges.  All lanes reopened a few hours later.

0:39 Thick plume of smoke as grass fire burns in west Edmonton

No other details were available.

The fire came as dry, hot weather combined with high winds pushed up the fire risk across Alberta and fuelled several other wildfires to the west and north of the city.

According to Natural Resources Canada, on Monday across Alberta it was drier and conditions more flammable than when the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire broke out, leveling hundreds of homes and forcing some 80,000 people to flee the city.

The Fine Fuel Moisture Code is an indicator of the relative ease of ignition and the flammability of fine fuel. Almost all of Alberta was at the top of the scale Monday.

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While many jurisdictions surrounding the city have issued fire restrictions or outright bans in recent days, the City of Edmonton did not make such a move.

“Edmonton Fire Rescue Services will not be issuing a fire restriction or fire ban at this point today,” a spokesperson said Monday afternoon.

“However, our Public Safety section is closely monitoring Edmonton’s Fire Weather Index — and its many indices — and will be revisiting its overall score tomorrow morning alongside an updated weather forecast.

“Some determining factors of the Fire Weather Index are very sensitive to short-term conditions (such as the current wind), so we could quickly see conditions return to normal levels for this time of year and ahead of May’s green-up.”

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2:05 Fire risk in Alberta even more extreme than 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire

The cause of Monday’s grass fire is not yet known. As of the evening, crews were still on scene addressing hot spots.

BELOW: Photos from the fire scene