With cooler temperatures expected in the northern part of the province in the coming days, wildfire officials expect to see an increase in wildfire activity.
Alberta Wildfire Information Unit Manager Christie Tucker says that throughout Sunday and Monday, officials have seen lower fire behaviour partly because of the smoke cover across the province. However, she says that starting Tuesday they are expecting to see a change in several fires across the province.
“We are preparing for challenging conditions, as a cold front moves in from B.C. and the winds are going to shift,” Tucker says.
Along with preparing for what they believe could be an active day Tuesday, by building fireguards around communities, Alberta Wildfire is also working with Parks Canada to help with their wildfire response in Jasper National Park. Tucker says overnight on Monday, Alberta Wildfire provided support including staff and wildfire intelligence; along with having aircraft and staff on standby to help in the area if needed. According to an update from Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen Tuesday morning, the wildfire is currently in the southern part of the area consisting of Jasper and Jasper National Park. He says at this time it is expected that the cause of the fire was lightning.
“There have been a lot of lightning storms across Alberta and I know there was some in that area,” Loewen says. “A lot of the fires we are fighting right now are lightning and there is expected to be more in the near future.”
As of Tuesday morning there were unofficially 17,500 people across the province evacuated from their homes because of wildfires. An estimated 10,000 of those evacuees are expected to be from the Town of Jasper, however provincial officials say these numbers will be confirmed as people begin to register either at the evacuation centers or online.
