With the record-breaking temperatures and lack of precipitation over last week, Alberta Wildfire upgraded their earlier fire restriction going into the past weekend for the Lac La Biche Forest Area. The Lac La Biche Forest covers most of the Lakeland region from Athabasca to Conklin and Lac La Biche to Cold Lake.
The fire hazard warning in the region is at Extreme.
Under the latest restriction, existing fire permits are suspended, all outdoor fires presently burning under permit must be extinguished, unless approved to continue by a Forest Officer. Going into the weekend — with a cooling trend expected to start the week — small campfires in engineered fire rings in campgrounds and backyard fire pits were still allowed.
Derrick Forsythe, the Alberta Wildfire Provincial Information said the recent scorching temperatures pose significant risks for forest fires.
“When the temperature gets higher than the humidity, we're in crossover conditions. And what that means is that things are really hot and they're really dry … If a fire starts, they'll start easier and they'll burn and grow quicker,” said Forsythe.
New fires heat up
Late on Friday, crews were battling a new, 150-acre fire near the Winifred River east of Conklin. Going into Saturday, that fire was listed as out of control. Two other smaller fires, both closer to the Janvier area were listed as being held. The largest of those two fires was reported to be less than one-tenth of a hectare. Four new fires have started in recent days just north of the Lac La Biche Forest boundaries inside the Fort McMurray Forest Area. All four fires are listed as out of control, but small with the largest being 20 hectares. Those fires are burning west of Gregoire Lake in the Hangingstone River Recreational Trail.
Since March 1, there have been 126 wildfires in the Lac La Biche Forest Area, burning a total of 184 hectares.
The recent heatwave emphasizes the seasonal importance of smart fire practices, Forsythe told Lakeland This Week last Friday.
“We’ve been talking about this a lot. We just need to be extra careful when we go into the woods, you know, camping or recreating, riding our OHVs,” said Forsythe, “Little things that we can do to be a really big help in reducing the risk of wildfires across the province.”
Some of those precautions include never leaving a campfire unattended, and making sure any campfire is completely extinguished by soaking it, stirring it, and soaking it again to ensure it is extinguished.
Forsythe urges residents to call 310-Fire if they see or suspect a wildfire.
The new expanded fire restrictions will remain in effect until conditions improve. More measures could be added to the restrictions if conditions continue to remain hot and dry.
Heat records smashed
Last Wednesday, several communities in and around the Lac La Biche Forest Area broke long-standing temperature records. Lac La Biche hit a 44-year high temperature of 35.6 degrees Celsius last Wednesday. The same day saw the Cold Lake area hit a record-high temperature of 35.9, beating the previous record of 30.2 set in 2008. The Athabasca area broke an almost 100 year record, hitting 36.8 Celsius last Wednesday, besting the 1924 record of 31.1. In Fort McMurray, the mercury crossed the 40 degree Celsius mark on Wednesday. The 40.1 degree day shattered the 34.4 previous record set in 1916.
*With research and files from Rob McKinley
