ST. ALBERT - Wildfires continue to burn across the province.
Data from the Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard, current from July 25, showed there were 133 active wildfires burning in the province.
Of those fires, six were mutual aid wildfires in which Alberta Wildfire was assisting but was not the lead agency.
According to data from the province, 13 of the still active wildfires are suspected to be caused by humans, 95 wildfires are suspected to be caused by lightening, and there are 25 wildfires still under investigation.
Currently, there are 18 out-of-control wildfires, while 50 are “being held.” There are 65 wildfires in the province considered to be under control, according to the Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard.
There are four wildfires of note in Alberta’s Forest Protection area including a wildfire located 20 km southeast of Fort Fitzgerald. It is classified as out of control at 59,834 hectares. This wildfire, called MWF-043 is being worked on by firefighters, helicopters, and heavy equipment.
The Owl Complex wildfire is located in four areas, HWF-072 14 km southwest of the South Tall Cree First Nation boundary and is classified as out of control at 30,123 hectares.
HWF-083 is located 34 southeast of the South Tall Cree boundary. It is classified as out of control at 13,700 hectares.
While HWF-087 is located 3 km south of Harper Creek. it is classified as out of control at 12,508 hectares. HWF-092 is currently classified as being held at 2 hectares, according to the dashboard.
The Basset Complex wildfire consists of three locations including HWF-058, which is located 13 km northwest of Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement and is classified as out of control at 39,929 hectares.
PWF-067 is located 18 km from the intersection of the Keg River Highway and Highway 35 and 695 intersections, according to the provincial dashboard, and is classified as out of control at 5,248 hectares. While, wildfire PWF-079 is classified as under control at 3 hectares.
The Kimiwan Complex wildfire has two locations. SWF-068 is located northwest of Peavine Metis Settlement and is classified as out of control at approximately 143,039 hectares.
“Wildfire PWF-038 is located near Three Creeks and Simon Lake. It is classified as under control at approximately 6,534 hectares,” the dashboard read.
Data from the province showed, there have been 913 wildfires to date burning 1.8 million ha. Data from the province shows 2023 has had the largest area burned in five years. The second largest area burned was in 2019 at 791.8 thousand ha.
Altogether, humans were the suspected cause of 478 wildfires this year, lightening was attributed to 338 wildfires, 97 wildfires are still under investigation.
Wildfires have been deadly over the last couple of weeks.
A firefighter, Devyn Gale, 19, died in Revelstoke B.C. on July 13 after being pinned down by a tree, as reported by the CBC.
On July 15, Adam Yeadon, 25 was also killed while battling a fire near the community of Fort Liard, N.W.T, as reported by the CBC.
On July 19, a pilot working on wildfires in the Peace River Forest Area died after his helicopter crashed.
The pilot was 41-year-old Ryan Gould from Whitecourt.
In a social media statement, his wife Carlyn, spoke of the impact the unexpected loss had on her family, but also thanked people for their support.
“The grief we feel is profound. We miss his big bear hugs, sense of humour and big burly beard so much…
“I am so humbled and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support in our time of need and I hope someday I will be in a position to return it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
“Please do not avoid us because of our grief, hearing from the people is giving us strength when we thought we had none. We love hearing your stories of Ryan and seeing the pictures of him. It brings glimmers of lightness and joy in this dark time.”
A celebration of life will be held for Ryan on August 5 at 1:00 p.m. near Whitecourt, with more details coming soon. The family is asking anyone who comes to wear blue.
“We would also love for you to print off and bring your favourite picture to add to our memory board, so that we may see aspects of the life Ryan led outside of our home and family,” she said.
