The number of wildfires in Alberta is about half of what it was two-and-a-half weeks ago when the provincial government declared a state of emergency.  On Thursday afternoon, Alberta Wildfire was counting 55 wildfires in protected forest areas, including 16 which were considered out of control. When the provincial state of emergency was announced on May 6, 110 wildfires were burning across Alberta, including 37 that were out of control. To date, Alberta Wildfire has recorded some 523 wildfires this year. Altogether, they have burned more than a million hectares of land. Recent wet and cooler weather has helped the firefighting effort, but officials said the season is far from over and additional help continues to arrive. A Hercules air tanker with the capacity to hold 11,350 litres of water from California was scheduled to arrive in Alberta on Wednesday. Twenty-five firefighters from New Zealand and 200 from Australia are also expected to arrive this week.