Courtesy: Alberta Wildfire (High Level)
HIGH LEVEL FOREST AREA | ACTIVE WILDFIRES OF INTEREST
HCX001 – Semo Complex (HWF053, HWF061, HWF081, HWF083, HWF136, HWF141)
The Semo Wildfire Complex is located north of John D’Or Prairie and Fox Lake, and west of Garden River. A few of the wildfires in this complex are located within Caribou Mountains Provincial Park.
There are currently 752 firefighters and support personnel, 47 helicopters and 137 pieces of heavy equipment working on the Semo Wildfire Complex.
HWF061 is a lightning-caused wildfire currently burning OUT OF CONTROL and was last estimated to be 105,135 hectares (ha). This wildfire is approximately 9.5 km northeast of the community boundary line of John D’Or Prairie, approximately 10.7 km north of the community boundary line of Fox Lake, and an estimated 1.9 km north of Highway 58.
HWF136 is currently burning OUT OF CONTROL at approximately 6,340 ha in size. This wildfire is located adjacent to Highway 58. It remains north of Highway 58 and is an estimated 13 km northwest of Garden River.
HWF053 is classified as BEING HELD. This wildfire is located north of HWF061 and is estimated to be 709 ha in size. Being held means that this fire is not expected to grow beyond established boundaries under the current conditions.
Other fires on this complex are within or nearby Caribou Mountain Wildland Provincial Park. Most of these wildfires have been determined to be caused by lightning, but the other wildfires in the complex remain under investigation. These fires will be monitored by fire personnel, with aircraft and further support as required. These wildfires include: HWF141, which is classified as BEING HELD north of HWF061 and east of HWF081, covering approximately 2,534 ha; HWF081, which is BEING HELD and is 50,149 ha; and HWF083, which is BEING HELD at 33,804 ha.
Fire Operations
Firefighters, heavy equipment and helicopters with bucketing capability are working along the southern perimeter of HWF061 to extinguish hotspots. Heavy equipment is also on the west side moving to the south as operators construct line. Operators are also making progress around the spot fire south of HWF061 and north of highway 58, working on the northwest perimeter to tie it into the main fire just to the north. The northwest side of HWF061 is seeing a lot of fire activity which we continue to monitor; there are no concerns in that area at this time. The southern perimeter continues to be the main priority.
The guard on the northeast perimeter of HWF136 fire is continuing as operators head west to build containment lines. There is an increase in activity on HWF136, but crews and heavy equipment are working to tie in small excursions with natural fuel breaks on the northwest corner. Due to dry conditions, this is expected and crews will work with helicopter bucketing to cool any areas of spread. If conditions allow, airtankers will be used for this fire to lay retardant lines along southern perimeters on fires within the complex.
In the communities, the Structure Protection Unit (SPU) continue its work to maintain and test systems. SPU will also be patrolling Highway 58 tonight, watching for any concerning areas.
Weather Forecast
There is a Fire Behavior Advisory in effect for the area, as well as a Red Flag Watch. This means that there is a significant weather event happening tonight and tomorrow. Due to hot and dry conditions, fire activity will be aggressive with high winds, as a cold front moves through this evening.
There may be an increase in smoke columns in the afternoon and this is expected. Most of these smoke columns will be along the north perimeter of HWF061 and HWF136, as that is where we have observed some growth over the last few days. There may be smoke from the south perimeter of HWF061, but it is not actively running south at this time. In the morning, there may be a weather inversion with lingering smoke, but it should clear by approximately 1:00 pm.
Tomorrow, the temperature is forecasted to reach 28C with the relative humidity around 25-30 percent. Winds are expected from the NW-NE at approximately 15km/h with gusts up to 30km/h.
