Alberta firefighters helped by cooler temperatures, but not before upcoming stretch of heat

Alberta firefighters have been getting assistance from Mother Nature as provincial wildfire numbers are dropping, but the anticipated heat in the coming days is expected to add to the wildfire risk in the province.

In an update Sunday afternoon, Alberta Wildfire information officer Melissa Story says there are 135 wildfires in the province, 15 less than on Saturday, with 34 being out of control, 47 being held, and 54 under control.

She says the Rabbit Lake wildfire complex has burned 23,000 hectares since July 5, is now being classified as held, which means the wildfire is not expected to grow past expected boundaries.

The fire burning southwest of Fort McMurray is also being held.

When it comes to Jasper, which suffered the worst and largest wildfire in 100 years, Story says Parks Canada has its own fire operations and is the lead agency in response to the wildfire, but they are ready to support the national park and the town.

“We’re gonna help out Jasper if and when we can, and we will do everything that we can to support them in their operations,” she said.

She also says Alberta Wildfire has provided 40 crew members to support efforts in Jasper, along with providing specialists like fire behaviour analysts.

“We’ve provided some heavy equipment including bulldozers and excavators, and we also have a helicopter on loan from the province of Alberta to support their bucketing operations on that wildfire,” Story said.

“Jasper is a top priority for us right now. So we would integrate any of the resources that we have here in the province to be able to respond to the wildfire response there if Jasper requires that assistance.”

Parks Canada said in a statement on social media that it acknowledges the concerns of Jasper wildfire evacuees and what rotting food will do to their homes, along with questions on when a critical highway through the national park will reopen, but it says the blaze continues to burn out of control and remains a threat to the town.

Meanwhile, Story says the cool weather has helped with hot-spotting, adding crews have been more effective with digging up dirt and bucketing operations.

“We’re seeing less fire behaviour, so it all works in our favour,” she said.

“That said, this is kind of a short reprieve for us because we’re expecting to see more elevated fire danger later this week. So fire crews are doing what we can and we are trying to make that progress that we can ahead of more conditions to come.”

Story says wildfire risk is low to moderate in the northern parts of the province as of Sunday as firefighters continue to reduce wildfire behaviour, but the danger in the south is “very high to extreme,” saying it didn’t benefit from the cooler temperatures and rain this past weekend.

As a result, a fire ban remains in place in the Alberta Forest Protection Area. Story says they are assessing the situation as it changes, but can’t say when the fire ban will be lifted.

“We want to make sure that we have enough wildland firefighters to respond to any new starts and we don’t want them to be human-caused campfires,” she said.

“So we’re doing everything that we can to waive the options and ensure that Albertans could still enjoy August long weekend and enjoy the nice weather to come while still being responsible.”

Along with Jasper and the area around it, the evacuation orders in the Bighorn area east of Highway 40 and west of the Ghost Public Land Access Point remain in effect.

Over 20,000 people in and around the town nestled in the Rocky Mountains four hours west of Edmonton were ordered to evacuate last Monday due to fast-moving wildfires.

Parks Canada has estimated 30 per cent of Jasper township’s structures were damaged, and a map of the town indicating which properties suffered damage was released on Saturday afternoon.

Joe Zatylny, the deputy managing director of the Alberta Emergency Response Agency (AEMA), says the number of evacuees spread throughout the province remains at 17,100.

He says emergency crews are still helping with wildfires in Jasper, Little Red River Cree Nation, Chipewyan Prairie First Nation and Wood Buffalo.

“We know that this is an extremely difficult time and we’re doing everything we can to help,” he said.

He says the AEMA is continuing to help Jasper and Parks Canada and the local incident management team in Hinton, adding it has coordinated over 250 firefighters from over 30 communities across Alberta to support the overall response.

Story adds firefighters from provinces including Ontario and Quebec are helping at this time, along with crews from Jalisco, Mexico; Australia; New Zealand; and South Africa, with the latter expected to arrive Sunday.

When it comes to Jasper and the wildfire, Parks Canada said Saturday the fire could burn for months.

In the meantime, Zatylny reminds Albertans that those impacted by a mandatory evacuation order exceeding a minimum of seven days, including temporary foreign workers, can apply for a one-time payment of $1,250 for each adult and an additional $500 for each child under the age of 18. Jasper evacuees are eligible for relief immediately.

The Alberta government is hosting a town hall meeting for residents at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 29, to answer questions as it is trying to combat misinformation floating around regarding the Jasper wildfire.

More information for evacuees and registration for financial support, and on the town hall can be found online.

With files from The Candian Press