Wildfire activity in Alberta may increase in the coming days, especially in the south, but conditions are not expected to resemble those in Jasper last week.
Alberta Wildfire is anticipating warmer temperatures and drying out in the southern parts of the province due to lack of rain, leading to “high” or even “extreme” wildfire danger.
Information unit manager Christie Tucker says forecasters are cautious and “watching those conditions.” But the situation is not the same as it was in Jasper National Park.
“We’re not expecting the hot, hot temperatures that we’ve seen, and certainly the wind was a major story on what happened last week, particularly in the Jasper area, so we’re not anticipating winds like we’ve seen there,” Tucker explained.
“We are anticipating warmer temperatures, but certainly not like the conditions that we’ve seen. So we are preparing. But we are not anticipating a repeat of what we saw last week.”
Tucker says recent rain and cooler conditions in the north – with more on the way – have been a “relief” for firefighters battling blazes.
“But that is not going to instantly turn an out-of-control wildfire into extinguished,” she warns.
She says it’s crucial for firefighters to work hard on the ground during periods where environmental conditions help decrease wildfire activity. That means building fire guards, widening containment lines, and working through the night.
“The teams out there are working strategically with the environment, trying to make as much progress as they possibly can while conditions are lower, and we’re seeing lower activity,” Tucker said, adding more rain would help.
“That’s the work that’s really going to help us in the long term when it comes to bringing those wildfires under control.”
There has not been a “significant amount of spread” on some of the larger fires in Alberta, Tucker says. There are currently 117 active wildfires in the province, of which 23 out of control.