Progress made against wildfires in Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo area

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Heavy rains, cool weather, hundreds of wildland firefighters and heavy equipment operators have made strong progress against all major wildfires complexes in the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region, with many wildfires now classified as held, under control or extinguished. Progress has been made against wildfires still burning out of control.

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Alberta Wildfire says the wildfire that caused the evacuation of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation and put Janvier on evacuation notice is now held and no longer spreading. The First Nation ended their evacuation on July 26. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) ended their evacuation warning for Janvier on the same day.

An out of control wildfire burning 12 kilometres north of Conklin and south of Highway 881 has not moved towards the community. The complex did not trigger an evacuation warning or order for Conklin.

These wildfires are part of the Kettle River Complex. Three wildfires are extinguished, four are under control and four are still burning out of control.  Forty wildland firefighters from Quebec are arriving Monday. An extra 100-person international contingent is arriving Tuesday. Crews on the ground, heavy equipment operators and pilots have been taking advantage of cooler and wetter temperatures in recent days.

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All three wildfires forming the Algar Lake Complex are considered held and are no longer spreading. This complex briefly shut down access to Highway 63 on the evening of July 22 and morning of July 23. At its closest points, the complex is 10 kilometres west of Highway 63 and 37 kilometres south of Fort McMurray.

The complex is being fought by 106 firefighters from Australia and across Alberta, as well as people flying 11 helicopters and using 20 pieces of heavy equipment. Pumps, hoses and crews have withdrawn from contained areas and redeployed to other trouble spots. Fire guards are being built on the fire’s eastern side and merging with areas that have already been burned by wildfires.

“With Mother Nature’s recent assistance in the form of substantial rain on the fire ground, our firefighters and supporting aircraft have made significant progress on this complex of fires,” said Wildfire Information Officer Damien Fear in an update from Alberta Wildfire.

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“They can now traverse the area quickly, identifying and extinguishing any hotspots they encounter and strengthening our containment lines.”

North of Fort McMurray is the Cattail Lake Complex. All three wildfires in this complex are still burning out of control. At its closest points, the complex burns 46 kilometres southeast from the Fort McKay First Nation and Metis Nation, 38 kilometres northeast of Fort McMurray and 6.5 kilometres from nearby oilsands sites.

The complex is being fought by 14 helicopters and 110 firefighters, including crews from across Alberta and Australia.

Fear said crews have made “significant gains in strengthening containment lines on the western edges” of some wildfires in this complex.

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vmcdermott@postmedia.com

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