Cooler weekend weather aids firefighting efforts across northern, central Alberta

CTV News

2 days ago

A wildfire on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range in Alberta in May 2025.
A drop in termperatures and rain have helped firefighters battling wildfires in forested aeras of northern and central Alberta this weekend.
The number of wildfires burning in Alberta on Sunday afternoon, 51, remains unchanged from the day before, with 26 of them classified as out of control, 22 as under control and three as being held.
According to the Alberta government's wildfire status website, half of the province's out-of-control wildfires are in the Slave Lake Forest Area, with nine of them a part of the Red Earth East complex.
The province has had 486 wildfires this year that have burned 473,355 hectares as of Sunday afternoon.
More than 700,000 hectares of land in Alberta burned in 2024.
Wildfires of note
Red Earth East complex
Several communities in the Slave Lake Forest Area have been evacuated due to wildfires burning there, including Loon Lake, Peerless Lake, Trout Lake, Chipewyan Lake and Red Earth Creek.
The province said Sunday cooler weather in the area has helped firefighters and fires have grown minimally, and that the weather forecast is favourable.
The complex in the northeastern portion of the Slave Lake Forest Area has burned close to 200,000 hectares between four of its major wildfires, including one near Chipewyan Lakes (132,167 hectares) and one near Red Earth Creek and Loon Lake First Nation (39,744 hectares).
Caribou Lake
An out-of-control wildfire in northeastern Alberta that's 61,551 hectares in size is burning near the hamlet of Conklin.
The R.M. of Wood Buffalo has put Conklin on an evacuation alert. Conklin is 279 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
Swan complex
Swan Hills remains under an evacuation order because of a wildfire eight kilometres north of the town near Edith Lake that put residents on alert last Sunday. The 1,300 people living in the town 180 kilometres northwest of Edmonton were ordered to leave the next day.
The fire is 17,573 hectares in size as of Sunday.
Cooler weather has helped firefighters, the province said.
Highway 33 southbound is closed from the Highway 2 junction near Kinuso to Highway 32.
The Town of Swan Hills is maintaining an evacuation section on its website for more information.
The nearby out-of-control Hubert Lake wildfire in Westlock County's Hubert Lake Wildland Provincial Park, located west of Highway 44 and seven kilometres from the community of Fawcett, is 2,924 hectares in size.
The province said Sunday the wildfire has not grown, adding the fire has seen little rain and that warmer temperatures forecast are expected to bring very dry conditions to the area.
Sousa Creek
The out-of-control wildfire, estimated to be 25,000 hectares in size, is located 72 kilometres west of High Level near the Chateh turnoff, 30 kilometres east of the town of Rainbow Lake and 6.8 km from the southern edge of the Chateh community.
The province said Sunday the fire grew overnight on the southeastern flank.
Whitefish
Wildfires burning near Whitefish River Utikoomak Lake 155A and Marten Beach are classified as out of control at 10,448 hectares.
Evacuation alerts are in place for both communities located north of Lesser Slave Lake.
The province said Sunday firefighters have made good progress on the fires and that there has been little growth.
Tulip Lake
The out-of-control wildfire in northern Alberta near the border with the Northwest Territories is estimated to be 4,500 hectares in size and is burning 19 km northeast of Fort Fitzgerald and 28 km east of Fort Smith, N.W.T.
Grande Prairie County No. 1
The county put some residents on alert Thursday because of a wildfire burning across the provincial border in nearby British Columbia.
People living north of Township Road 720 to Township Road 732 and east of the border to Range Road 130 are asked to be prepared to leave when asked.
The wildfire prompted an evacuation in B.C.'s Peace River region and may face precipitation throughout the weekend.
Environment Canada says Kelly Lake in the Peace River Regional District is forecasted to see about a 30 per cent chance for showers for both days of the weekend.
The nearby wildfire remains at about 4,600 hectares in size as of Saturday morning, and firefighters say its growth has stopped about seven kilometres from Kelly Lake.
The fire has forced about 70 people in the area to evacuate their homes.
Yellowhead County
The communities of Peers, Robb and Mercoal have been evacuated because of wildfires burning close to them. The January Creek fire south of the hamlet of Peers is 761 hectares in size.
The province said Sunday firefighters, heavy equipment, helicopters and airtankers alongside the Yellowhead County Fire Department continue to fight the blaze.
Prairies emergencies
In Manitoba: Wildfire near Flin Flon contained
Fire crews in northern Manitoba have so far been able to contain an encroaching wildfire that forced thousands of residents from their homes.
Officials in Flin Flon, Man., say the fire burning near the mining city has been contained to outside its perimeter highway, and that as of Saturday evening there have been no structure losses.
In Saskatchewan: Northern communities evacuated
Ongoing wildfires in northern Saskatchewan have forced several communities to evacuate and prompted a province-wide state of emergency.
People in Timber Bay, located in north-central Saskatchewan, were ordered to evacuate on Sunday due to a fast-moving wildfire threatening the area.
The community of 81 residents is situated about 30 minutes off Highway 2, which connects La Ronge and Prince Albert, and is accessible via secondary Highway 969, a former main route into the north.
With files from CTV News Winnipeg, CTV News Saskatoon and The Canadian Press