MD of Greenview Evening Update – May 17th

Current wildfire status update from Greenview Emergency Operations Centre

May 17, 2023 – 9:00 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  –  9:00 PM (no new update received on May 17, 2023)

The hot, dry and windy conditions today resulted in increased fire behavior across all wildfires in the Grizzly Complex. In total there are 88 firefighters,14 helicopters and six heavy equipment groups working on the Grizzly complex wildfires.

SWF-057 located approximately 26 kilometres south of Kinuso and over 30 kilometers southwest of the Town of Slave Lake, is classified as out of control and has burned an estimated 8,136 hectares. There was increased fire activity today on the south side of the wildfire due to the strong and gusty winds from the northwest. The growth was not significant. Firefighters with helicopters are working on the active area and heavy equipment is working to build fire guard. Firefighters with nodwells continue to work along the highway 33 to extinguish hotspots. There are 29 firefighters and two heavy equipment groups working on this wildfire.

SWF-063 located approximately seven kilometers south of High Prairie and approximately 16 kilometres northwest of Swan Hills is classified as burning out of control and has burned an estimated 69,074 hectares. Due to winds from the northwest, the wildfire did experience some growth to the southeast. In the late afternoon, smoke suppressed the fire intensity. Firefighters are assessing ignition opportunities to create fire guards. Firefighters continued to work in areas around and within the East Prairie Metis Settlement and on the north side of the wildfire in the rural areas near the community of High Prairie. There are 50 firefighters and two heavy equipment groups working on this wildfire.

SWF-064 is located over 40 kilometers northwest of Swan Hills, is classified as out of control and has burned approximately 22,222 hectares. Smoky conditions prevented firefighters from observing the wildfire today and all firefighting efforts were focused on SWF063 and SWF057. There are two heavy equipment groups working on this wildfire.

WILD HAY WILDFIRE COMPLEX (South East of Grande Cache EWF037 and EWF040)
May 17, 2023 – 11:50 AM

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.

No growth occurred on this complex yesterday or overnight. Spots of unburned green vegetation may be torching today. This fire behavior may be visible in that area today as well as producing smoke.

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

Crews and equipment made great progress yesterday on the containment line around EWF-037. They will continue reinforcing the guard around this wildfire. Crews and equipment will be working on the containment line around EWF-040 fire perimeter this afternoon.

EAGLE COMPLEX – Fox Creek / Little Smoky (WWF023, WWF028, GWF027)
May 17, 2023 – 8:00 PM

GWF027 (Crooked Lake Fire) – is classified as out of control. This fire is now a part of the Eagle Complex which is being managed by the Whitecourt Forest Area.

WWF023 (Eagle Fire) was detected on May 5, is burning out of control. The wildfire reached the established containment line at the north of the town of Fox Creek, and the line is holding steady. The fire remains 10.6 km southeast of Little Smoky. This afternoon, thermal satellite imagery determined a size of 55,020.4 ha.

Resources allocated to this fire include 52 firefighters, a structural protection unit and the Fox Creek Fire Department. Equipment includes 4 intermediate helicopters with 1 assessor, 3 medium helicopters with buckets and 2 heavy helicopters, as well as dozer heavy equipment groups. The CH-47 Chinook is one of the most capable firefighting helicopters available today. Partners from other jurisdictions include an Incident Management Team from Ontario, Helitack crew members from Oregon and Cypress Hills, 50 military personnel, as well as a pre-suppression crew from Quebec to assist with firefighting efforts.

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.

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. Growth was observed on this fire today, however, containment lines to the north of town have held up to prevent the wildfire from spreading further into the community of Fox Creek.

The fire is burning on the surface of the ground but also climbing into the trees and creating a crown of fire. Grasses and other fuels remain dry. High temperatures and dry conditions are anticipated to continue this week. Little or no precipitation is expected. Tomorrow, winds are projected to shift to blow from a SE direction.

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 17, 2023 – 2:00 PM

The Sturgeon Lake Complex comprises two fires. GWF017 is estimated to be 3900 hectares in size and is out of control, while GWF023 is estimated to be 3400 hectares in size and is out of control. Today there are 134 firefighting personnel and 79 management and support staff on site. Eleven helicopters and 25 pieces of heavy machinery are allotted to the two fires. Among the 11 helicopters are 2 Chinook helicopters that are being integrated into operations today. These very large aircraft have huge helibucketing capabilities and will be a great help to ground crews.

Weather conditions will remain cool today with northerly winds at 15 to 20 kilometres per hour. Similar weather conditions yesterday along with all the hard work put in by firefighters allowed the fires to remain within their existing perimeters. Active fire behaviour was observed in areas of unburnt fuel within the perimeter of the fires.

Today crews will work on extinguishing hot spots, protecting structures and establishing containment lines, particularly on the southern flank of GWF017 and the eastern flank of GWF023. Crews will also be directing their attention and efforts to the western flank of GWF023 in anticipation of winds shifting to the southeast tomorrow.

Evacuation Alert/Order
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 17, 2023 – 2:00 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 are  observing  low to moderate fire activity.  Firefighters are using helicopters with buckets dropping 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.

Evacuation Alert/Order
Greenview issued an Evacuation Order on May 12, 2023, for all residents located south of Township Road 690, between Highway 40 and the BC Border in the Grovedale area. Everyone north of Township Road 690 to the Wapiti River should be prepared to evacuate on short notice