While the wildfires in the Wood Buffalo National Park continue, a meeting is planned for this evening to discuss fire safety and other information with interested locals.
There are 82 fire personnel and seven helicopters responding to wildfires in Wood Buffalo National Park today.
Fire 23 was last mapped at approximately 358 hectares. It is located approximately 22 km north of Highway 5, 3.2 km south of the park’s boundary line and approximately 43 km southeast of Sandy Lake.
Highway 5 remains open, and there is no risk to any communities from this fire at this time. Fire activity over the past two days has been too intense for ground crews to safely action. Growth and fire behaviour were more moderate yesterday than earlier in the week. Fire personnel were able to fly the area and continue to gather more data, which will inform containment options and ignition opportunities.
Smoke may be visible from the highway, so travellers 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.
Fire 22 was located during a smoke patrol two days ago and immediately actioned. The crew was successful at containing it at 0.2 hectares and the fire is now classified as Extinguished.
Fire 17 is approximately 13 hectares in size and located 1.9 km north of Fire 7’s northern edge. This fire, which was detected and actioned immediately, is now classified as Under Control. This fire is 30 km from Fort Smith and poses no current risk to any communities.
Fire 16 is located approximately 33 km north of Highway 5 and was last measured at five hectares. Two crews with helicopters were dispatched as soon as it was detected. Their quick and effective work led to this fire now being classified as Under Control.
Fire 18, Fire 19, Fire 20 and Fire 21 currently pose no risk to any communities and are burning in remote areas of the park. They are being monitored by Wood Buffalo National Park fire personnel and structure protection will be put on values at risk (cabins and other infrastructure) in the area as needed.
Tonight’s meeting will take place at 7pm at the Wood Buffalo National Park Visitor Centre. Key presentors will be discussing the current fire situation, how the fires have been managed so far, maps of the area, as well as community engagement.
