WOOD BUFFALO NATIONAL PARK FIRE UPDATE JUNE 11 There are currently seven fires burning in Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP). Fire 4 was ignited by lightning June 1 and was burning south of NWT Highway 5. A successful burnout operation conducted by Parks Canada on June 3 removed most of the forest fuels adjacent to the highway and has significantly reduced any danger to the road from that side. On the afternoon of June 5th high wind gusts from an approaching front allowed the fire to spot to the north side of the highway. The fire north of Highway 5 is in the NWT and was actioned by the Government of the NWT. GNWT wildfire information can be found at the fol-lowing website: nwtfire. The fire to the south of Highway 5 is approximately 2500 hectares in area. A Parks Canada Incident Management Team and fire crews from other National Parks are working on the fire. This fire is within the Alberta and GNWT border zone agreement. No highway closure is anticipated. Sig-nificant rain and cooler temperatures in the area of fire 4 have reduced fire behaviour and the fire is now classi-fied as being held. Fire 1 is located 15 km south of Garden River. Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources Develop-ment Fire Crews are working to contain the growth of the fire outside the western boundary of WBNP. Fire 5 is approximately 25 kilometres southwest of Fort Fitzgerald, AB. A Parks Canada Fire Crew and heli-copter have successfully extinguished the fire. Fire 2 has been observed in the south-eastern part of the park. It is 10 kilometers north of the southern boundary of the park, across the Athabasca River from the Embarras Airstrip. It is being monitored. Fire 3 has been observed in the west-central portion of the park along the bank of the Jackfish River. It is being monitored. Fire 7 is located 10 kilometers north of the Birch River and 70 kilometres southeast of Garden River. It is being monitored. There are no values at risk due to these fires. Fire 6 is located north of the Peace River approximately 30 kilometres to the west of Peace Point. A Parks Canada fire crews laid a sprinkler line around a cabin approximately three kilometres from the fire. Smoke col-umn from this fire can be seen from Fort Smith to the south. Rain on this fire has reduced activity and it is cur-rently being monitored. The current fire danger in Wood Buffalo National Park is Moderate. Weather The weather for June11 for the Wood Buffalo National Park region calls for below average temperatures, a possi-bility of thundershowers later in the day and a 60-70 per cent chance of showers for the next four days. Air Quality There are no air quality issues for the Wood Buffalo National Park region. For additional information on air quality and smoke levels from wildfires in Western Canada, please consult the BC Air Quality website at: env.gov.bc.ca/epd/bcairquality/bluesky/index.html Current Fire Danger—Moderate
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:27:05 +0000
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