Alberta Wildfire continues work on extinguishing wildfires throughout the province.
According to the Alberta Wildfire interactive map, there are 27 active wildfires in the province, with only one of them classified as out of control between Calgary and Banff.
Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen says the province’s wildfire prevention and response tactics have been working very well.
“At this point in time last year, the province had experienced over 540 wildfires with nearly 1.3 million hectares burned,” Loewen said. “Whereas this year, we have just over 380 wildfires and just under 28,000 hectares burned.”
There is also a fire that started in the Northwest Territories last year that has spread to the Alberta side and is considered out of control, but Loewen says things are looking good from the Alberta side.
Alberta Wildfire Information Unit Manager Christie Tucker says May is usually a busy month for wildfires.
“When temperatures warm up before the leaves and grass have fully turned green,” Tucker said. “We always say the greatest indicator of what kind of season we’ll have is usually spring rain, and we’re grateful for the rain we’ve had over the past couple of weeks.”
However, Tucker warns with rain often comes lightning sparking additional wildfires.
There are just three active wildfires in the Fort McMurray Forest Area, all of which remain under control.