Category Archives: Forest Fires

Forest Fires

Some wildfire evacuation orders rescinded near Slocan Lake, B.C.

CBC News
July 30, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Hundreds of British Columbians were able to return home as some wildfire-related evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday, but B.C. fire officials warn that rain will soon be replaced by more heat going into midweek. The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says rain and cooler temperatures the past week have made it easier to quell fires, though firefighters remain wary of wind and thunderstorms. “While cooler weather and rain has given us an advantage in many parts of the province, we’re urging people to stay prepared,” B.C. Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said at a news conference Tuesday. “Hot weather will return this summer.” More showers and cooler weather were in the forecast for some parts of the province throughout Monday, giving relief from recent hotter and drier conditions that drove up fire intensity across B.C. But a hot, dry spell is expected to return later this week. 

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Wildfire east of Penticton sees no growth, mapped at 223 hectares

By Logan Lockhart
Vernon Morning Star
July 30, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Lower Campbell Creek wildfire east of Penticton saw no growth overnight and remains 223 hectares in size, as of July 30. BC Wildfire Service says the blaze — located between Penticton and the communities of Carmi and Beaverdell — is still categorized as out of control. Seven pieces of heavy equipment will continue to support the 48 personnel on-site, BCWS said Tuesday. That’s up from the 24 firefighters who responded to the blaze over the weekend. One helicopter is currently assigned to the wildfire, the provincial service team added. …BCWS says it has established a machine guard along the south and east flanks of the blaze, while crews on Tuesday work on a hose lay for the east flank. Structure protection crews are also on-scene.

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Rain helped but fire near Sooke continues to burn out of control

By Carla Wilson
The Times Colonist
July 30, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER ISLAND — Despite recent rain, the 230-hectare Old Man Lake fire near Sooke is still classified as out of control, although showers overnight Sunday and into Monday reduced the fire’s intensity, a wildfire official said Monday. “This isn’t a significant amount of rain,” Coastal Fire Centre information officer Kimberly Kelly said Monday, noting warming and drying weather is anticipated later this week, which means the fire-danger rating will remain high. The good news is that the wildfire has not grown since the weekend, she said — it remains 230 hectares, or just over two square kilometres. “It’s not that it is burning vigorously. It’s just that the terrain is so steep and challenging for our crews.”

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Progress made against wildfires in Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo area

By Vincent McDermott
Fort McMurray Today
July 29, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Heavy rains, cool weather, hundreds of wildland firefighters and heavy equipment operators have made strong progress against all major wildfires complexes in the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region, with many wildfires now classified as held, under control or extinguished. Progress has been made against wildfires still burning out of control. Alberta Wildfire says the wildfire that caused the evacuation of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation and put Janvier on evacuation notice is now held and no longer spreading. The First Nation ended their evacuation on July 26. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) ended their evacuation warning for Janvier on the same day. An out of control wildfire burning 12 kilometres north of Conklin and south of Highway 881 has not moved towards the community. The complex did not trigger an evacuation warning or order for Conklin. These wildfires are part of the Kettle River Complex. 

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Hundreds under evacuation order in B.C. as wildfires grow

CBC News
July 29, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Hundreds of British Columbians remain on evacuation order Monday morning as around 360 wildfires burn throughout the province. They include all residents of the village of Slocan, a community of about 380 people in a part of southeastern B.C. where several out-of-control wildfires are burning, including two wildfires of note — fires that are highly visible or are threatening public safety. DriveBC says Highway 6 along Slocan Lake remains closed for a nearly 40-kilometre stretch from south of Slocan to just beyond New Denver to the north. Dan Seguin with the Regional District of Central Kootenay’s Emergency Operations Centre said Monday morning it was a busy weekend for his team, having issued an evacuation alert for Slocan on Saturday that was upgraded to an evacuation order Sunday morning. By the time the order was in place, more than half of Slocan residents had already left, Seguin said. 

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Jasper officials release map, list of all structures destroyed by wildfire

By Nicholas Frew and Wallis Snowdon
CBC News
July 27, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

JASPER, Alberta — Parks Canada — the lead agency on the firefighting effort — estimated Friday that 358 of the town’s 1,113 structures — about one-third of all buildings — were destroyed. The map released Saturday supports what officials have previously said: west Jasper and southwest of Miette Avenue sustained the brunt of the damage. Entire blocks and rows of buildings and homes were destroyed. One west end neighbourhood was almost incinerated, the map shows. CBC News analyzed the list of addresses, which showed Patricia and Geikie streets, and Cabin Creek Drive, lost the most structures in town. …Satellite images of Jasper, collected Friday night using synthetic-aperture radar (SAR), were provided to CBC News by company Altitude Intelligence.

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Evacuation order issued for Village of Slocan as Kootenay wildfire spreads

By David Carrigg
The Vancouver Sun
July 27, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

SLOCAN VALLEY — An evacuation order has been issued for Village of Slocan residents in the West Kootenay region. The village in the Slocan Valley where Slocan Lake turns into the Slocan River is a destination summer tourist spot and has been on evacuation alert for over a week as a series of wildfires threatened the area. On Friday the village of around 300 homes and businesses was quiet, except for local firefighters and those from across Western Canada and Australia present to prevent encroachment from the out-of-control Mulvey Creek wildfire to the west and the Ponderosa fire to the southeast. …According to a Regional District of Central Kootenay statement issued at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday July 27, all village residents must leave by Sunday at 8 a.m. on the advice of the B.C. Wildfire Service. …On Sunday, RDCK spokesperson Dan Seguin said over 1,000 homes were under evacuation order within the Slocan Lake fire complex.

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Jasper wildfire: Video and pictures show destruction within townsite

By Caley Gibson
Global News
July 25, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Video and pictures taken inside the Jasper townsite show absolute devastation and destruction caused by wildfires in western Alberta. …Parks Canada said the most significant structural damage is concentrated on the west side of town, southwest of Miette Avenue. The fire also damaged several bridges around the town and throughout the national park, including the Moberly Bridge and the Old Fort Point Bridge. Parks Canada said bridges on the Icefields Parkway will need to be assessed for structural damage as well, which will slow down access to the Maligne Lake and Highway 93. In a video posted online on Thursday morning, the extent of the damage became more apparent. The video shows buildings burned to the ground and scorched vehicles parked on the side of the road. Global News has confirmed the video was taken in the Jasper townsite but it’s not known exactly where in the town the video was captured.

Additional coverage in Orillia Matters, by Canadian Press: Alberta premier says up to half of all Jasper buildings destroyed by fire

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Fire numbers fall in B.C. as fire near Golden destroys structures, spurs evacuation

Canadian Press in CTV News Vancouver
July 25, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Employees at Canadian Timberframes near Golden, B.C., had no warning when a nearby wildfire jumped the Columbia River and “barrelled through” as many as five nearby homes, the company said. “The fire was out of control. The winds changed. It came so fast,” said co-owner Stephanie Bowes. The Town of Golden, B.C., confirmed Thursday that the fire burning south of the community had destroyed “several structures”. …The BC Wildfire Service said a trend of cooler weather across much of the province had resulted in a dip in the number of fires burning and allowed crews an opportunity to make progress on some of the 425 active blazes. It’s the first time fire numbers have dropped in weeks. However, the service said the fires of note — those that pose a threat to people or property or are highly visible — had increased to five, with the addition of the Dogtooth fire.

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Expect more evacuation orders and alerts, B.C. wildfire officials warn

CBC News
July 24, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

B.C. officials said the wildfire situation in the province is “rapidly evolving,” telling residents they may see more evacuation orders and alerts in the coming days. There are currently around 430 active wildfires, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service… and round 60% of them are considered by the service to be out of control. …”This past week has been difficult for many people and communities, and we are expecting more challenging days ahead,” B.C. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said. Ma encouraged residents who have to evacuate to call their insurance provider once they’re safe and outside the evacuation order area to understand how they’ll cover living expenses. …On Wednesday, stormy weather is expected to continue in the north, and the Interior is forecast to keep seeing strong winds. …Canada will also be receiving firefighting help from Mexico and South Africa, Sajjan said, in addition to crews that have already arrived from New Zealand and Australia.

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Jasper wildfire live updates: ‘Significant loss’ in townsite, Flames hit Jasper Park Lodge grounds

By Trevor Robb
The Edmonton Journal
July 24, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

JASPER, Alberta — Wildfires bearing down on the historic Jasper townsite reached its southern outskirts early Wednesday night as a last-ditch attempt to reroute it failed. Parks Canada reports ‘significant loss’ in the townsite as crews work to save as many structures as possible. The fire was reported to have reached the grounds of the iconic Jasper Park Lodge. Deteriorating air quality forced wildland firefighters and others without self-contained breathing apparatuses to evacuate to Hinton. People who have not left Jasper are told to do so immediately. …The largest fire is estimated to be among the largest in Jasper National Park’s history at 10,800 hectares in size and burning just eight kilometres from the town. Parks Canada officials Wednesday said the smaller, 270-hectare south wildfire moved four kilometres to the north overnight. …Rain is forecast for Wednesday but officials cautioned, “the rain doesn’t count until it’s on the ground.”

Related by the Associated Press: Fast-moving wildfire in the Canadian Rockies’ largest national park hits the town of Jasper

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Jasper faces ‘significant loss’ of buildings, infrastructure as wildfire engulfs Alberta town

By Nicholas Frew and Thandiwe Konguavi
CBC News
July 24, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland choked up Wednesday night, reflecting on how an evacuation order issued days ago may have saved thousands of lives, while an out-of-control wildfire burned his community. A wildfire had threatened the Alberta mountainside townsite for days from the south, but finally reached it in the evening. Ireland knew little more than the rest of the public Wednesday night about the damage toll, as flames consumed multiple buildings, including the Maligne Lodge and at least the grounds of the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. “This is simply our community’s worst nightmare,” Ireland told CBC News. Parks Canada said “significant loss has occurred within the townsite” in a social media post at 10 p.m. MT, but was unable to “report on the extent of damage to specific locations or neighbourhoods at this time.”

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Bow Valley preparing for intense fire activity as region sees extreme fire danger

By Brendan Coulter
CBC News
July 24, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

With crews battling to save the town of Jasper, Alta., from wildfires, communities in the Bow Valley are gearing up in case of increased fire behaviour further south. Banff National Park and the towns of Banff and Canmore, Alta., are all facing extreme fire danger due to recent hot temperatures and bone-dry weather. On Wednesday evening, two out-of-control fires were burning east of the Banff National Park boundary in the Calgary and Rocky Mountain House forest areas. Banff fire Chief Russ Geyer said his team is ready for whatever conditions come their way. “Right now, we are in a state of readiness,” said Geyer. “We’ve spent [many years] preparing equipment, training personnel and being prepared for events such as the fire that Jasper is seeing right now.”

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Battle to keep historic town wet and safe, as B.C. fire tally surges, homes destroyed

By Brieanna Charlebois & Chuck Chiang
Canadian Press in Tricity News
July 23, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

BARKERVILLE, BC — The British Columbia gold rush town of Barkerville is drenched, both from overnight rains and sprinklers dousing its timber buildings, some more than 150 years old. It’s part of an effort to save the historic park that is one of the Cariboo region’s premier tourist attractions from the flames of the Antler Creek wildfire that is burning out of control about three kilometres away, said Stewart Cawood, Barkerville’s public programming and media manager. “Today is looking better with the rain that we had overnight, but with it being so close and fires being so unpredictable, even with all these protective measures in place, there’s absolutely a concern we could lose the town,” he said. …The town’s website says it features more than 125 heritage buildings, and it was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924.

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Wildfire in Sooke Potholes Park grows to 50 hectares

By Jeff Bell
Victoria Times Colonist
July 23, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A wildfire at Sooke Potholes Regional Park first reported on Monday has grown to 50 hectares and is still burning out of control, says the Coastal Fire Centre. The fire, initially reported as three hectares in size, was first spotted at 3 p.m. on Monday east of Sooke River, in the northeast section of the park. Visitors and campers in the area were evacuated as a precaution, and the park was closed. Sam Bellion, fire information officer for Coastal Fire Centre, said the fire grew overnight due to sustained winds. “The winds did blow away some of the smoke, giving us a better aerial view of the fire.”  …The fire is believed to be human-caused. …The fire was about five kilometres from the region’s water-supply area by Tuesday afternoon, but is not currently deemed to pose a risk to the watershed or the tree canopy within it, the CRD said in a statement, citing fire behaviour, terrain and wind direction. 

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Wildfire near Pemberton now ‘being held’

By Roisin Cullen
Pique News Magazine
July 23, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

UPDATE: The wildfire on the In-Shuck-Ch FSR is now “being held,” according to the BC Wildfire Service’s map. A “human-caused” forest fire is now burning 2.5 hectares near Pemberton, and is classed as “out of control.” An out-of-control wildfire is a fire that is “spreading or is anticipated to spread beyond the current perimeter or control line.” The fire is located on the In-Shuck-Ch FSR near Driftwood Bay at Lillooet Lake, approximately a 40-minute drive from Pemberton. The fire was discovered July 22 at about 1:30 p.m. Crews initially had the fire under control before it grew substantially overnight and regained its “out of control” status. Two crews from Lil’wat Forestry Ventures have rushed to the wildfire. Chief Cameron Adams of Pemberton Fire Rescue said at a Pemberton council meeting on Tuesday, July 23 that the blaze is suspected to be caused by campfire. His crew is ready to jump in and help if needed.

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Jasper wildfire evacuees told to U-turn away from B.C., head to Alberta

The Canadian Press in The Northern View
July 23, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Thousands of wildfire evacuees forced from Jasper National Park into British Columbia along smoke-choked mountain roads Monday night were directed Tuesday to make a wide U-turn and head home if they needed a place to stay. Alberta fire officials said B.C. has its hands full with its own wildfires and evacuations. “The issue is the severity of wildfire activity and evacuations in B.C. proper,” Stephen Lacroix, managing director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, told reporters during a video conference. “They had no capacity to house Albertans.” …Everyone in Jasper National Park — tourists, hikers, campers, boaters — along with 4,700 residents of the Jasper townsite were ordered out late Monday night as wildfires pinched off escape routes to the east and south. The result was a long, slow-moving line of cars and trucks heading west through the mountains to B.C. in darkness, swirling smoke, soot and ash.

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Williams Lake River Valley wildfire now considered being held

By Angie Mindus
Williams Lake Tribune
July 23, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada West

As the smoke cleared Tuesday morning, July 23, things were looking up for the city of Williams Lake: the BC Wildfire Service now considers the Williams Lake River Valley wildfire as being held. The view Tuesday is a stark change from Sunday evening (July 21) when the fire erupted, and even Monday morning as crews battled to gain control of the blaze which took a run at the city Sunday evening along Mackenzie Avenue. The city is expected to update residents in the coming hours regarding the reopening of Mackenzie Avenue, and access to the lake and boat launch. An evacuation alert remains in place, although that could change today. A storm Monday evening brought lightning, but also cooler weather which is a relief from a long stretch of hot, dry temperatures.

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Progress made on Williams Lake River Valley wildfire

By Angie Mindus
The Williams Lake Tribune
July 22, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

An aerial image taken by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) Monday, July 22 shows the extent of damage caused by the Williams Lake River Valley wildfire that continues to threaten the city. The fire is estimated at 40 hectares and is still considered out of control by the BCWS. The city is reporting, however, that crews are making significant progress on the fire. Evan Dean, director of protective services, said the Williams Lake Fire Department (WLFD), in coordination with the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), as well as support from numerous other structural and wildland crews, gained ground containing Sunday’s fire. “Currently, crews are working on securing perimeter lines, as well as extinguishing hot spots,” Dean said. “Out of an abundance of caution, alerts remain in effect for the Mackenzie Avenue, Woodland, Westridge and Country Club areas, due to potential spotting or reignition cause by extreme weather.”

Additional coverage in the Castanet by Madison Reeve: B.C Wildfire Service reports the wildfire is classified as out of control

Victoria Times Colonist, by Canadian Press: Tactical evacuations, water use warnings issued as wildfire threatens Williams Lake

Black Press, by Angie Mindus: ‘We’re hitting it hard’: Crews fight Williams Lake wildfire from air, ground

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Dry Creek fire out of control near Revelstoke

By Lauren McNeil
Revelstoke Review
July 22, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A wildfire in Dry Creek is out of control and an evacuation alert has been put in place for the area. The fire was first discovered on July 18. BC Wildfire Services has updated the status of the fire as of July 22, stating that it has grown to 150 hectares. An evacuation alert is issued for the following areas, Highway 23 South from Cranberry Creek to Shelter Bay, and Shelter Bay to 12km on the Shelter Bay Forest Service Road. This evacuation alert is issued to prepare you to evacuate your premises or property should an evacuation order be made. Dry Creek is approximately 35 kilometres south of the City of Revelstoke.

Additional coverage in Revelstoke Review: Evacuation alert for Shelter Bay to Cranberry Creek

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No crews fighting Mara Mountain fire on Monday, BC Wildfire Service says, due to steep terrain

By Chelsey Mutter
Castanet
July 22, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A wildfire burning on Mara Mountain has grown to 220 hectares, and access to the fire remains an issue, prompting firefighters in nearby Sicamous to prepare to defend the community. Inaccessible terrain kept BC Wildfire Service crews from working a 220-hectare fire burning near Sicamous on Monday. BCWS Information Officer Ayden Coray said no bucketing of the fire took place Monday, and steep terrain has made the fire inaccessible for ground crews. An update from the Columbia Shuswap Regional District advises the public that BCWS continues to monitor the wildfire.

Other BC evacuation news from Castanet: Sitkum Creek wildfire balloons to 350 hectares, evacuation alerts in place

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Thousands flee Jasper National Park as wildfire threatens township, prompts highway closures

By Dean Bennett & David Boles
The Canadian Press in CBC News
July 22, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

About 4,700 residents of the Alberta mountain town of Jasper and visitors to Jasper National Park have been forced to evacuate after a wildfire roared into the area late Monday night. People were forced to flee west into British Columbia with little notice over mountain roads through darkness, soot and ash. Photos and video shared on social media depicted a long line of cars and trucks, headlights on, red tail lights blinking, heading out bumper-to bumper as the deep blue night sky darkened. …The Jasper townsite — and the park’s main east-west artery Highway 16 — were caught in a fiery pincer. Fires threatening from the northeast cut off highway access east to Edmonton. Another fire roaring up from the south forced the closure of the north-south Icefields Parkway. That left one route open — west to B.C. …The evacuation alert was sent just after 10 p.m. MT. The Municipality of Jasper declared a state of emergency shortly after.

 

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Wildfires erupt in B.C. with lightning, heat fuelling fire behaviour across province

The Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
July 20, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Barbara Roden, mayor of Ashcroft, BC, says the area’s long-term care residents have been moved out as a fast-moving wildfire looms nearby. Ashcroft is about 360 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. Roden said Saturday that the community remains under an alert to be ready to evacuate on short notice. Roden said the anxiety among residents is “settling down a little bit” as the nearby Shetland Creek wildfire appeared to push northward Saturday. …Roden’s comments came as the Thompson-Nicola Regional District confirmed Venables Valley — just a few kilometres southwest of Ashcroft — has seen a number of structures destroyed by the Shetland Creek fire as of Saturday. …Meanwhile, the number of wildfires in British Columbia has flared up to more than 300, with more than half of those classified as out of control and about 70 started in the last 24 hours. The B.C. Wildfire Service said one of the primary drivers in the latest spike has been lightning.

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Several wildfires have forced authorities in B.C. to issue evacuation orders as heat wave intensifies

CBC News
July 21, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Cariboo Regional District Emergency Operations Centre issued an evacuation order Sunday afternoon citing the rapid growth over the weekend of the Antler Creek wildfire in B.C.’s central Interior. The emergency order encompasses 431 parcels in the Barkerville Area, covering 62,488 hectares, including the historic Barkerville town — the largest living history museum in western North America. The EOC has also extended the order for 33 parcels in the Bowron area, covering about 30,567 hectares to the east of Wells and part of the Bowron Lake Provincial Park. Earlier on Sunday, the District of Wells also declared a state of local emergency for the entire district, which is about 180 kilometres southeast of Prince George. …In the order signed by Mayor Ed Colemon, the wildfire is described as a “significant threat” to the health, safety and welfare of the community. Coleman told CBC News that about 1,000 people are impacted by the order.

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Alberta wildfire evacuees now number 7,500, Little Red River Cree Nation fully evacuated

By Nicholas Frew and Sam Samson
CBC News
July 21, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

EDMONTON, Alberta — Jason Saovord, his girlfriend, their kids and his girlfriend’s sister rolled into Edmonton early Sunday morning, having travelled hundreds of kilometres from northern Alberta to stay in a hotel for shelter. They are among thousands of people from Little Red River Cree Nation fleeing the Semo Complex wildfire, a group of out-of-control wildfires in the High Level forest area. An evacuation order was issued Saturday afternoon, as one of the fires encroached about two kilometres from Highway 58 — the one thoroughfare in the area. …Little Red River Cree Nation, which has about 5,500 members, is made up of three communities: Fox Lake, Garden River and John D’Or Prairie. Garden River was evacuated last week due to the wildfire, but the Alberta Emergency Management Agency issued an evacuation order for Fox Lake and John D’Or Prairie around 12:30 p.m. Saturday. …There are about 7,500 wildfire evacuees in Alberta. 

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Local state of emergency declared in Williams Lake, BC

The Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
July 21, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

WILLIAMS LAKE, BC — Lightning-triggered wildfires over the weekend have prompted a number of evacuation orders and alerts across B.C., a situation that has been exacerbated the ongoing heat wave. The B.C. Wildfire Service said Sunday that crews are battling more than 300 blazes, with several evacuation orders in effect in both Central and East Kootenay as well as in Thompson-Nicola, Cariboo and Bulkley — Nechako in the northwest. …A local state of emergency was declared on Sunday night in Williams Lake, where the River Valley wildfire is burning within city limits. An evacuation alert has been issued for properties from the intersection of Highway 20 and Mackenzie Avenue to the Jackpine Sawmill Access Road on Mackenzie Avenue near Atlantic Power’s Williams Lake plant. …In the Central Kootenay, the community of Silverton also remained on alert Sunday while 107 properties south of the village were under an evacuation order due to the nearby Aylwin Creek wildfire.

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Crews get to wildfires quickly in Northern Ontario

By Carl Clutchey
The Chronicle Journal
July 30, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Ontario – Despite a fairly dry July, particularly in Thunder Bay, it’s so far been a fairly light forest fire season across the region compared to previous years, with some blazes being extinguished quickly. According to Ontario’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) agency, there have been 189 fires recorded across the province as of Monday, compared to the 10-year average of 463 for the same period. Nearly half so far this season broke out east of Northwestern Ontario. The AFFES agency says that the amount of area burned so far this season is quite small compared to the 10-year average — 18,436 hectares, compared to more than 192,347 ha for the same period. Of the 18,436 burned to date, only 634 ha have burned in the Northwest. In 2023, during one of Ontario’s worst forest fire seasons in memory, nearly 396,000 ha had burned over parts of the province by near the end of July.

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Ontario forest fire season quieter than anticipated

By Elaine Della-Mattia
The Timmins Daily Press
July 24, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

The wildfire season in Ontario has been a little quieter than anticipated this year. That’s likely because forest fires are a weather driven phenomenon and Ontario has seen significant rainfall since the spring, with some rain experienced every few days, said Evan Lizotte, fire information officer for Ontario’s Northeast region. The anticipated increased forest fire season came after a relatively dry winter with less snow cover than expected. …after a hot and dry summer in 2023 and low snowfall in the winter, that could have made a high wildfire season this year. …Meanwhile, throughout the season, Ontario’s crews have assisted with larger fire seasons experienced west of Ontario, including Manitoba, Alberta and now British Columbia. To date this year there have been 173 fires in Ontario, down from 470 fires during the same timeframe in 2023. The 10-year-average is 414 fires, the data shows.

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Evacuations end for Labrador City a week after wildfire forced out thousands

The Canadian Press in CTV News
July 22, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Labrador City residents will soon be returning home after a wildfire forced an evacuation last week. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey has said the evacuation order officially lifts at noon Monday, though essential workers and their families were allowed to return over the weekend. Furey said in a statement Saturday the gradual return would “allow residents of Labrador City to return home in a safe and orderly manner.” More than 7,000 residents of Labrador City were ordered to evacuate last week after a sudden shift in conditions reignited the once-smouldering fire and it moved toward the town. Labrador City Mayor Belinda Adams said the fire that had threatened the city is now “very low risk,” and rain was helping crews who are working to put out hot spots.

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Wildfires in California, Utah prompt evacuations after torching homes amid heat wave

By Christopher Cann
USA Today
July 22, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States

Wildfires ignited over the weekend burned hundreds of acres of land in California and Utah, prompting evacuation orders as they torched homes, threatened nearby communities and, in Salt Lake City, burned near the state capitol. The fires roared across the West amid an unrelenting stretch of intense heat that’s expected to continue through the week. The National Weather Service has issued heat warnings and advisories from southern California to Washington, Idaho and Wyoming as triple digit temperatures are expected across multiple states. In Southern California, the so-called Hawarden Fire, just four miles south of downtown Riverside, began on Sunday and grew to 500 acres, forcing residents to leave their homes as the fire rapidly expanded. Three homes were destroyed in a roaring blaze that was captured on video by local news crews. …Another wildfire in Riverside County broke out on Sunday and also spread across 500 acres, triggering evacuation orders that were eventually downgraded.

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Thousands battle Western wildfires as smoke puts millions under air quality alerts

By Nic Coury, Eugene Garcia and Olgar Rodriguez
The Associated Press in the Billings Gazette
July 28, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

FOREST RANCH, Calif. — Wildfires across the western United States and Canada put millions of people under air quality alerts on Sunday as thousands of firefighters battled the flames, including the largest wildfire in California this year. In Montana, the Diamond fire ignited Saturday along Bridger Creek near Greycliff. It was initially estimated at 400 acres in size. The so-called Park Fire had scorched more than 550 square miles of inland Northern California as of Sunday morning, darkening the sky with smoke and haze and contributing to poor air quality in a large swath of the Northwestern U.S. and western Canada. Although the sprawling blaze was only 12% contained, cooler temperatures and increased humidity could help crews battle the fire, which drew comparisons to the 2018 Camp Fire that tore through the nearby community of Paradise, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes.

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Alexander Mountain Fire grows to 992 acres

By Erin Udell and Holly Engelman
The Register-Guard
July 30, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

COLORADO — All evacuations remained in place Tuesday morning as the Alexander Mountain Fire continued burning west of Loveland. Crews were on the scene of the fire overnight Monday with air operations and “additional ground resources” expected to resume Tuesday morning, the Loveland County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. The United States Forest Service is expected to assume command of the fire control efforts Tuesday, according to Inciweb, an incident command website that tracks wildfires across the nation. The fire, which had grown to estimated 950 acres with no containment as of 7:45 p.m. Monday, was first reported in a 911 call received at 10:39 a.m., LCSO spokesperson David Moore said Monday.

Additional coverage in the Colorado Sun by Olivia Prentzel: Northern Colorado residents told to immediately evacuate as fast-moving wildfire burns near Loveland

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Park Fire grows to California’s sixth largest wildfire ever

By Brendan O’Brian
Reuters
July 30, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

CALIFORNIA – Thousands of firefighters battling a massive northern California wildfire were working in milder temperatures and higher humidity Monday, but the blaze that has destroyed more than 100 structures since it began five days ago continues to grow. The Park Fire, which officials said was started by a man who pushed a flaming car into a gully, grew slightly overnight to 368,000 acres (148,924 hectares). The sixth largest wildfire in state history is rolling through a remote area some 180 miles northeast of San Francisco, according to Cal Fire. Crews were “still in for quite a firefight, just because (of) the sheer magnitude and the sheer size of the fire,” said Dan Collins, a Cal Fire captain. …Some 4,800 firefighters were building and strengthening control lines on Monday morning hoping to increase the 12% they had contained. 

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Crews battle wildfires across the US West and fight to hold containment lines

By Nic Coury and Rebecca Boone
The Associated Press
July 28, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

FOREST RANCH, California — Wildfires across the western United States and Canada put millions of people under air quality alerts on Sunday as thousands of firefighters battled the flames, including the largest wildfire in California this year. The so-called Park Fire had scorched an area greater than the size of Los Angeles as of Sunday, darkening the sky with smoke and haze and contributing to poor air quality in a large swath of the northwestern U.S. and western Canada. …Paradise and several other Butte County communities were under an evacuation warning Sunday.
…By Sunday afternoon, the fire continued to grow west, with flames crossing Highway 32 near Butte Meadows.  …In Southern California, a fire in the Sequoia National Forest swept through the community of Havilah after burning more than 48 square miles in less than three days. The town of roughly 250 people had been under an evacuation order. Fires were also burning across eastern Oregon and eastern Idaho.

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California’s largest wildfire explodes as several fires burn across Western U.S.

The Associated Press in Oregon Live
July 27, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Thousands of firefighters battling a wildfire in northern California received some help from the weather Saturday morning, just hours after the blaze exploded in size, sending massive, swirling plumes skyward and scorching an area about the size of Los Angeles. The blaze was one of several tearing through the western United States and Canada, fueled by wind and heat. Cooler temperatures and an increase in humidity on Saturday could help slow the Park fire, the largest blaze so far this year in California, after its intensity and dramatic spread led fire officials to make unwelcome comparisons to the monstrous Camp fire. That fire burned out of control in nearby Paradise in 2018, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes. Weather conditions are easing up, but that may or may not have an impact on the fires, said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

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Durkee Fire 50% contained, but megafire is already ‘huge devastation’ for ranchers

KGW8 News
July 28, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

BAKER COUNTY, Ore. — On Saturday, wildfires continued to burn across the United States, with the majority concentrated in Oregon, and the largest still the Durkee Fire. Officials say it’s near 290,000 acres in size, with a perimeter of 169 miles. However, crews have made progress, and by Sunday it was 50% contained. At the northwest corner of the megafires footprint, local landowners and ranchers are still dealing with the worst of it. Fire officials say this area remains a concern due to heavy winds and drier conditions at high elevation and a shift to a timber fuel type, as compared to the Durkee Fire’s predominant fuels to date: grass, shrubs and juniper. …On day 10 of the megafire, nearly 600 firefighters were working on suppression, confident they’ll soon contain the fire along Interstate 84. …Oregon has reached a total of 1,017,474 acres burned, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. 

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Oregon wildfires: Rain in forecast, but unlikely to bring much help with fires

By Zach Urness
The Salem Statesman Journal
July 28, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

There are more than 38 large wildfires burning across Oregon. Here’s the latest notes and details about the blazes. Hopes for a decent amount of rain are looking increasingly unlikely in the areas that need it most to quell fires, forecasters said Sunday. …The U.S. Forest Service has approved the use of heavy equipment and fire retardant to fight wildfires burning in Pacific Northwest wilderness and roadless areas. The Congressionally-designated areas typically are supposed to see fire crews take a lighter touch — using minimum suppression tactics or even letting fires burn in some cases. But the number of fires — and long duration left in the fire season — has spurred leaders to approve more aggressive tactics. …Heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, however, can drastically impact sensitive areas and fire retardant can pollute waterways. Forest leaders said they would be careful “where and when to allow the use of heavy equipment and retardant,” the agency said.

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Lightning and a burning car pushed into a gully are blamed for wildfires scorching the West

By John Antczak and Holly Ramer
KRMG Tulsa’s News & Talk
July 26, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

A burning car pushed into a gully sparked California’s largest wildfire of the year, authorities said Thursday as they announced the arrest of a suspect. Meanwhile other blazes scorched the Pacific Northwest. Flames from the fire the man is accused of starting exploded into what is now the Park Fire, which has burned more than 195 square miles (505 square km) near the city of Chico. Evacuations were ordered in Butte and Tehama counties, with the blaze only 3% contained by Thursday evening. California authorities did not immediately name the man they arrested. Also in California near the Nevada line, about 1,000 people remained displaced from their homes Thursday after evacuations were ordered Monday night when lightning sparked the Gold Complex fires that have burned more than 4 square miles (10 square km) of brush and timber in the Plumas National Forest about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Reno, Forest Service spokeswoman Adrienne Freeman said.

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Oregon wildfires: Smoke from Slate Fire seen from Detroit Lake

By Emma Logan and Elliott Deins
Salem Statesman Journal
July 24, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

As wildfires continue to burn across Oregon, extreme weather is forecast for Eastern Oregon. According to the Oregon State Fire Marshal, the weather is forecast to be most extreme Wednesday afternoon and evening, with a red flag, excessive heat and flash flood warnings in place. The area is also forecast to see lightning, winds that could reach 60 mph and high temperatures. “We are working with every tool we have to protect people and property,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said in a press release on Wednesday. “The Oregon structural fire service, our out-of-state firefighters, and our wildland partners are working relentlessly around the clock. I want to say thank you. This is a monumental challenge that every firefighter and support staff is rising to.” Here’s the latest on wildfires burning across Oregon.

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Oregon is seeing an ‘aggressive start’ to its wildfire season. Many have been human-caused

By Joni Auden Land
Oregon Public Broadcasting
July 19, 2024
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek addressed a group of reporters Friday to detail the state’s response to a series of wildfires this month. “Our wildfire season is off to a very aggressive start,” Kotek said. This year, the governor has already declared five emergency conflagrations in response to various fires, which allows the state to use its resources to protect life and property. Oregon has been no stranger to increasingly numerous and destructive wildfires in recent years, which scientists say is a by-product of human-caused climate change. This year, though, the fires are starting earlier than expected and spreading quickly, a worrying sign as the wildfire season nears its traditional peak in August. Most of the major wildfires this season have been human-caused. The most common cause is people burning debris around their home, and embers escaping to surrounding areas. Loose tow chains and gas-powered lawn mowers can also spark a fire.

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