Recent wet weather conditions and cooler temperatures have not only lowered the provincial fire hazard level across the region but have also allowed municipal firefighters to focus on other duties, says John Kokotilo, the regional fire chief for Lac La Biche County.
“We’re actually in pretty good shape right now,” he said in a June 25 interview with the Lac La Biche Post newsroom. “The continued rain that we’ve gotten here in the last little while has really significantly reduced the hazard level a lot.”
The current situation, Kokotilo continued, is much better than it was a month ago, when the community took in evacuees from Fort McMurray fleeing a raging forest fire in northern Alberta that was fueled by the tinder-dry conditions. At that time, firefighters from stations across the municipality were being called almost daily to small wildfires and blazes caused by the dry conditions.
Not having to continually battle wildfires has freed up firefighters to work on equipment and focus on more training. Some of that training includes building an additional Structure Protection Unit (SPU)-type 2 trailer.
“It’s actually a good thing right now,” he said of the cool, wet weather. “It’s giving us some time to you know recharge and get our training and everything else back up to speed.”
The fire boss is quick to point out, however, that just because the wet weather has reduced the wildfire danger, municipal crews have been kept busy with several structural fires and vehicle collisions in recent weeks. He continues to urge residents to use caution whether it’s at home, camping or on the daily commute.
Kokotilo is also very aware that a few days of hot weather can quickly bring up the wildfire hazard across the forest areas that make up the Lac La Biche region.
“We can get two or three weeks of hot, hot, hot weather and dry and we’d be back in a fairly hazardous situation again,” he said.
Josee St-Onge, a spokesperson with the Alberta government, echoes those sentiments.
“As the summer warms up, we remain vigilant and prepared to respond to any new wildfires,” she said.
Despite the recent, steady rains, she says most of northern Alberta is still categorized as being in a drought condition. She also reminds residents that the summer months generate more storms where lightning is present.
She urges residents to remain vigilant as well, especially as the summer months draw more people to the campsites and back-country trails of the region.
“We ask Albertans to continue to do their part to prevent wildfires by being cautious in forested areas and following any fire bans or restrictions,” St-Onge said.
Going into the Canada Day long weekend, there were 17 wildfires burning in Alberta. Two of the fires, both in the northwestern Alberta near High Level, wildfires were listed as out of control. The other fires were all being held by provincial fire crews or under control.
Less fires despite dry conditions
According to St-Onge, there have been 88 wildfires in the Lac La Biche Forest Protection Area – a district covering the Lakeland area and north to Janvier – since January. Those fires have burned just 59 hectares of land. Across the province, despite the early-season fears about the dry conditions, the 479 wildfires reported are well below the five-year average of 559. The amount of land burned in fires so far this year is also well below the average. According to Alberta Wildfire statistics, the 479 wildfires since January 1 have burned about 31,000 hectares. The five-year average is 530,000 hectares. That average includes the more than 1.8 million hectares of land burned in the 2023 wildfire season that saw 770 fires.
