wildfire

A book about the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire is taking home the 2024 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. Penned by Vancouver author, John Vaillant, “Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast” is a best-seller digging into the details and events surrounding the 2016 wildfire. It was one of 46 books nominated for the award. […]

The wildfire burning near Saprae Creek is now considered under control. The blaze began on April 21st prompting an evacuation alert to be issued for Saprae Creek Estates. Shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 25th, the province updated the fire status to, “under control.” According to Alberta Wildfire, “under control” means the wildfire is […]

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) is revising its Outdoor Fire Bylaw. The Municipal Council approved revisions to the rules governing outdoor fires at their meeting on April 22nd. The new bylaw contains major revisions regulating all outdoor fires and burning in the urban service area of Fort McMurray. “More than 60 per cent […]

Update, 8:00 p.m. April 21: Wood Buffalo RCMP are advising the public not to operate drones in the vicinity of the wildfire. Police say drones have been seen flying in the area of the wildfire, grounding helicopters attempting to fight the blaze. The RCMP say this is a significant risk to public safety, as helicopters […]

Alberta Wildfire is issuing a Fire Advisory for the Fort McMurray Forest Area. The current fire hazard in our region is considered moderate. The advisory is being issued due to current and forecasted conditions in our region. Under the advisory, new fire permits will only be issued on a case-by-case basis. Current permits remain valid, […]

Budget 2024 is investing more money to help combat wildfires. With many regions of Alberta at heightened risk for forest fires, the government is spending an additional $151 million over the next three years for more firefighters and new technology to help beat back any blazes. In addition to more fire crews, there are extra […]

Alberta has declared an early start to this year’s wildfire season. The fire season typically runs from March 1st to October 31st, but yesterday Minister of Forestry and Parks, Todd Loewen, announced that the season is starting immediately. Burn permits are now required for anyone who plans on burning in the Alberta Forest Area. The […]

Alberta’s wildfire season officially starts March 1st, and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) is sounding the alarm over the government’s preparedness. AUPE says the Government of Alberta’s failure to hire and retain dedicated wildfire fighting staff threatens Albertans’ safety. Members of AUPE employed by Alberta Wildfire say that the organization has been grappling […]

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is tallying the costs of the summer fires in Yellowknife and Hay River. Based on IBC’s initial estimates, the wildfires resulted in over $60 million of insurable losses. The forest fires in the Northwest Territories led to the evacuation of nearly 25 thousand people over the summer, and the […]

Regional Emergency Services (RES) will be conducting a controlled burn this week. Fire Crews from RES along with Alberta Wildfire will be out at Morgan Heights and Harpe Heights in the Timberlea neighbourhood overseeing a hazard reduction burn to help reduce the wildfire risk in the area. The hazard reduction burns in Timberlea are planned […]