MD of Greenview Evening Wildfire Update – May 16th

Current wildfire status update from Greenview Emergency Operations Centre

May 16, 2023 – 10:00 pm

Please note that the information in the following update is official information as provided by Alberta Forestry. Greenview strives to provide a timely high-level summary of active wildfires within Greenview and will post updates to evacuation orders and alerts as available and provided by Alberta Forestry and the Province of Alberta, which are incredibly busy managing the current wildfire situation in the province.

Additional map resources
Fire Information for Resource Management US/CANADA

Alberta residents who are looking to provide equipment or for anyone who is trained and qualified in firefighting looking to volunteer to help in the wildfire efforts is invited to send an email outlining their desire to assist to EmergencySupportOffers@gov.ab.ca 

Grizzly Complex (Big Lakes County) – SWF057, SWF063, SWF064
May 16, 2023  

No new information provided today from Alberta Wildfire

WILD HAY WILDFIRE COMPLEX (South East of Grande Cache EWF037 and EWF040)
May 16, 2023 – 10:08 PM

There are multiple wildfires located south of the Little Smoky River, north of the Wild Hay River and east of Hwy 40 north. These also include the areas near the Willow Haul road and the Jack Wright road north of Hinton. These wildfires were formerly reported as five separate fires, but due to more accurate GPS measuring, have been determined to be two larger fires. EWF037 is out of control at 578 ha and EWF040 is out of control at 684 ha.

There was an increase in fire activity observed on the Wild Hay Wildfire Complex yesterday but no perimeter growth was reported overnight.  Crews and equipment will continue working towards containing this fire activity within the fire perimeter and to limit fire spread to the south.

There are 3 helicopters, 6 pieces of heavy equipment and 4 wildfire personnel working on this fire today.

EAGLE FIRE (WWF023 – Fox Creek/Little Smoky)
May 16, 2023 – 8:15 PM

WWF023 was detected on May 5, is burning out of control at approximately 46,915 ha in size. The wildfire is approximately 4.5 km north of the town of Fox Creek and 10.6 km southeast of Little Smoky, as of May 16.

Resources allocated to this fire include helicopters with bucketing support, heavy equipment and firefighting crews.

Established Fox Creek structural protection includes protection for all critical infrastructure, containment guards established by dozers groups with support from industry, along with wet sprinklers as further assistance for the containment guards, and ground retardant has been applied around the community perimeter, with support from industry. Additionally, three structural groups from municipalities in the Alberta Wildland Urban Interface Fire Structure Protection Program have been working together on structural protection for the community.

Helitack crews from Oregon and Cypress Hills, as well as a presuppression crew from Quebec continue to assist with firefighting efforts.

Crews will continue searching for hotspots on an ongoing basis.

Wildfires burn very hot and will burn into the ground. The situation remains ever-changing and conditions on the fire line will continue to vary due to forecasted weather. Limited visibility today has prevented personnel from obtaining an accurate assessment or size estimate.

High temperatures and dry conditions are anticipated to continue this week. Little or no precipitation is expected this week.  Grasses and other fuels remain dry. Tomorrow, winds are forecasted to weaken and shift to blow from the SE-NE.

Evacuation Alerts/Orders

An Evacuation Order was updated on May 15, 2023 at 8:00 pm for the entire Town of Fox Creek extending down to Highway 947, the Hamlet of Little Smoky and surrounding areas.

An Evacuation Alert remains in place in an area North of the Hamlet of Little Smoky to be prepared to evacuate if necessary.

STURGEON COMPLEX (GWF027 & GWF023)
May 16, 2023 – 9:55 PM

The hard work put in by firefighters yesterday as well as less extreme wind speeds kept the fire from reaching Valleyview and Highway 43. Today, cooler temperatures and cloud cover minimized fire behaviour this afternoon.

Both fires stayed within their perimeters due to hard work on the ground and in the air. Crews continued to reinforce dozer guards, created new guards around new growth and protected structures. Helicopters conducted bucketing operations and airtankers worked with retardant and water.

Today there were 123 firefighting personnel and 79 management and support staff on site. Eight helicopters and 25 pieces of heavy machinery were allotted to the two fires.

GWF017 grew eastward last night and is estimated to be 3900 hectares in size.

GWF023 grew eastward and then due south last night and is estimated to be 3900 hectares in size.

Two Chinook Helicopter have arrived tonight and will be deployed to the GCX-001 Sturgeon Lake Complex. The CH-47 Chinook is one of the most capable firefighting helicopters available today. There is one bucket ship and one helitanker working on this complex

An evacuation order was updated on May 15, 2023 at 1:00 pm for Greenview Residents in the following area: Highway 49/RR 222 South to TWP RD 700, West to RR 240 and North to TWP RD 722 including Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation.

BALD MOUNTAIN FIRE (GWF019)
May 16, 2023 – 9:55 PM

GWF 019 is located 21km west of Hwy 40, 50 km South of Grande Prairie. This fire is classified as out of control (OC) and estimated to be 15,000ha in size. Today, firefighters observed moderate fire activity on southern end of the wildfire however there was no significant growth even with the extreme wind experienced over night.  Firefighters will continue to monitor and drop water on this wildfire from the air  and heavy equipment will continue to build fire guard. There are two heavy equipment groups working on this wildfire.

CROOKED LAKE FIRE (GWF027)
May 16, 2023 – 9:55 PM

GWF027 – is classified as out of control (OC) and estimated to be 20,000ha. This fire is located  27 km SW of Little Smoky and continues to show very aggressive fire behavior. This wildfire is an active crown fire burning in continuous spruce and pine fuel type. Dozer unit is on standby and will start working once it is safe to do so. A ignition specialist and assessor is assigned to this fire.