Firefighters from Yukon have joined wildfire fighting efforts in Alberta. Photo from the Alberta Wildfire Facebook page.

By Jeff Henson

WILDFIRE UPDATE

Wildfire numbers in Alberta continue to come down, but officials warn of warner weather in coming days

May 10, 2023 | 5:50 PM

The number of active wildfires across the province continues to decrease, as does the estimated number of evacuees from those fires.

Forestry officials say there are currently 78 active wildfires in Alberta, 24 of which are listed as out of control.

With some evacuation orders being lifted in recent days, the number of Albertans evacuated due to fires now sits at just under 18,000.

Wildfire information officer Christie Tucker says forecasted weather conditions for Thursday in the north could make for some challenging firefighting conditions.

“We are expecting low humidity and warmer temperatures in the northern boreal, which could make wildfires more active up there. Albertans may see more smoke and activity on wildfires as it warms up towards the weekend.”

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Tucker adds crews have been taking advantage of cooler temperatures in recent days, and using several measures to try and reinforce fire guards that they are establishing around several communities.

“Things like building fire breaks around communities. That is scraping down to the ground and making it more difficult for a fire to cross a particular area.”

“Sometimes, active fire behaviour can interfere with the ability of firefighters to get close to a wildfire. We have to maintain the safety of all Albertans, and that includes firefighters too.”

Tucker adds they are getting assistance in battling these fires from crews from outside of the province.

“We have sent out teams from British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Yukon, New Brunswick, Oregon, and Alaska. (Wednesday) more than 80 firefighters have landed from Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick.”

So far this year, there have been 421 wildfires across the province, burning 410,000 hectares.

Tucker says that number is double the average amount of hectares of forest land burned within an entire year in Alberta.