Yesterday, TWO fires were confirmed in Wood Buffalo National Park. These fires, along with the other six recently confirmed fires, were caused by lightning from large thunderstorm cells.
There are 78 fire personnel and seven helicopters responding to wildfires in Wood Buffalo National Park as of the July 5th update.
Fire 22 was spotted during a smoke patrol flight conducted late yesterday morning. One crew onboard immediately actioned this fire from the ground, with early support from bucketing. They were successful at containing it and the fire is now Extinguished. The fire was 0.2 hectares and located approximately 12 km SW of Highway 5 and 85 km west of Fort Smith.
Fire 23 was located around 1400 hrs yesterday afternoon by a helicopter responding to Fire 22 and assessed at 5 hectares on discovery. The helicopter started bucketing Fire 23 while one crew was immediately dispatched to respond. Just one hour later, the fire was estimated to be 40 hectares, with extreme fire behaviour observed along the whole perimeter. Fire activity was too intense for crews to safely action on the ground.
An air tanker group from the Government of the Northwest Territories was called in to help action the fire, but visibility and fire behaviour did not allow for effective suppression actions. An ignition specialist flew the fire to look at containment options and assess natural features. Today, fire specialists will continue to consider tactics to action this fire and, as conditions and fire behaviour allow, will work to limit the fire’s spread.
This fire is currently 23 km north of Highway 5, 6 km south of the park’s boundary line and approximately 40 km southeast of Sandy Lake. Smoke may be visible from the highway, so travelers are asked to drive with caution in the area. Safety of people, communities and infrastructure is the top priority for Parks Canada in fire management operations.
Highway 5 remains open, and there is no risk to any communities from these two fires at this time.
