Wildfires erupt near northern Alberta oil well sites

Calgary Herald

26-05-2025

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Hot weather sparked a string of wildfires around Alberta over the weekend, including some near oil and gas wells operated by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and others.
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Three out-of-control fires were burning in Alberta at noon Monday, including a 1,606-hectare blaze that prompted an emergency alert for the town of Swan Hills. That fire, burning eight kilometres from the town, is less than half a kilometre away from a CNRL-operated well site and within 20 kilometres of separate well sites operated by CNRL and other companies.
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Canadian Natural didn't respond to a message seeking comment left late Sunday. Alberta Wildfire didn't respond to a phone call seeking comment.
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An evacuation notice has been issued for Swan Hills, with residents in affected areas advised to prepare for a possible evacuation by gathering pets, important documents, medication and enough food, water and supplies for at least three days as well as adding fuel to vehicles.
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This is an Alberta Emergency Alert. The Town of Swan Hills has updated a wildfire alert.
A wildfire is burning 8 km North of the Town of Swan Hills.
A one hour evacuation notice has now been put in place for the Town of Swan Hills.
Everyone in the affected area should prepare… pic.twitter.com/i574BNaLVc
— Alberta Emergency Alert (@AB_EmergAlert) May 26, 2025
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Earlier this month, the province cancelled a planned Emergency Alert test due to increased wildfire activity. The alert has been used frequently to announce fires and evacuations in northern Alberta communities including Sturgeon County, Yellowhead County, Athabasca County, Parkland County, Hamlet of Fawcett and the Summer Village of Larkspur.
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Other communities, including the Village of Boyle and Thorhild County, issued local state of emergencies in May as a result of fast-moving and out-of-control fires.
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Wildfire expert and professor at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, Mike Flannigan, has warned that Alberta's expected dry, hot summer increases potential for a busy fire season.
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'The forecast can be wrong, but right now it's supposed to be a hot, dry summer, especially in the south of Alberta,' he said, adding that a hot, dry summer generally means more fire.
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The Bow Valley or Kananaskis Country is overdue for a big fire at some point, he said.
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'I'm not saying it's going to be this year, but I'm saying it's been primed for some time and one of these days we are going to see a big fire in that corridor,' said Flannigan.
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Last year's fire in Jasper has experts fearing for a similar catastrophe in Banff.
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'It's just so primed to burn, you can't stop it — I don't think Banff has time,' Cliff White, a former Parks Canada forestry scientist, said last summer.
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A wildfire in the area would be devastating, dwarfing the mega costs of the 2024 Jasper wildfire. Economic devastation would be amplified due to the Bow Valley's much larger population and visitor numbers.
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That would also mean an increased chance of injuries or deaths of people, along with a bevy of negative impacts on the environment, wildlife, tourism, insurance rates, transportation and commerce, since vital rail lines and the Trans-Canada Highway run right through the area.
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Wildfires present a regular threat to the province's oil and gas production, typically from March through October. Fort McMurray, the largest population center near Alberta's massive oilsands operations, was heavily damaged by a blaze in 2016 that forced thousands to evacuate and temporarily shut more than one million barrels of daily oil output.