The number of active fire personnel on the scene of the Wood Buffalo wildfires has gone up once again in the latest update.
There are 85 fire personnel and 5 helicopters responding to wildfires in Wood Buffalo National Park today. Fire is actively burning on both sides of Pine Lake Road. Fire crews were unable to conduct a full patrol of Fire 2 due to extremely poor visibility. It is imperative that members of the public do not travel in this area.
Fire 24 was last mapped at 8 hectares and was discovered on a smoke flight earlier this week. It is located on the western side of the park near the Alberta border south of Buffalo Lake and currently poses no risk to any communities or infrastructure.
Fire 23 was last mapped at approximately 1,678 hectares and is located approximately 22 km north of Highway 5. Highway 5 remains open, and there is currently no risk to any communities from this fire.
Fire crews are continuing aerial patrols. Currently, the fire is surrounded by historic burn areas with poor fuel. Smoke may be visible from the highway. Travellers are asked to drive with caution. Safety of people, communities and infrastructure is the top priority for Parks Canada in fire management operations.
Work on the southwest flank of the Davidson Lake Fires is complete and the response has now shifted into active monitoring. Earlier this week, a fire crew travelled to the Davidson fire to maintain the structure protection and to observe activity on the fire. Fire management personnel will again return to the area today observe the fire behaviour and maintain the structure protection on cabins in the area
