Rain helps douse dozens of wildfires in Alberta, but Jasper fire remains out-of-control

Firefighters working on the Algar complex fire southwest of Fort McMurray. The complex was reclassified from out-of-control to being held on July 28, 2024. (Alberta Wildfire)

Alberta Wildfire said, thanks to some rain, good progress had been made on dozens of wildfires in the province over the weekend.

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The agency said on Sunday that 17 out-of-control fires had been brought under control, and 49 fires had been extinguished between Friday and Sunday afternoon.

As of 3 p.m., there were 133 wildfires in the forest protection area of Alberta, with 34 classified as out-of-control. That does not inlcude fires within municipal or federal lands. 

"This shows how effective fire firefighters working in subdued conditions can be," Melissa Story with Alberta Wildfire said. "This was a good weekend for firefighting."

Of note, the Algar wildfire complex southwest of Fort McMurray was reclassified from out-of-control to being held. Since being sparked by lightning on July 10, the fire burned more than 17,000 hectares.

The Semo Complex fire, responsible for evacuation orders in the Little Red River Cree Nation, remained classified as out-of-control at more than 96,500 hectares.

While rainstorms have helped with firefighting efforts, Story said warmer, dryer weather is expected to return in the coming days.

"This is kind of a short reprieve for us, because we are expecting to see more elevated fire danger later this week," she said.

A fire ban remained in place for the entire forest protection area of Alberta.

"We are expecting the wildfire situation to continue to present a challenge. These are critical days ahead," said Joe Zatylny of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

"I'm reminding Albertans to remain vigilant and to follow all fire bans and restrictions to minimize the threat of new fire starts.

"There are communities across the province that are all counting on all of us to do our part and act responsible."

For more information, or to check for a fire ban, visit albertafirebans.ca.

Alberta Wildfire firefighters have come from Eastern Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to help. Sunday, the province had around 40 firefighters helping with wildfire efforts in Jasper National Park

Evacuation orders remained in place for Jasper, Chipewyan Lake, Fox lake, John D'Or Prairie, Garden River and parts of the Municipal District of Bighorn. The estimated number of wildfire evacuees remained at 17,100 on Sunday.A wildfire telephone town hall will be held on Monday at 6:30 p.m.

For more information on evacuee supports, or to register for the town hall, visit alberta.ca/emergency.

Jasper National Park

On Sunday, Parks Canada said the wildfire in Jasper National Park remained out-of-control at around 32,000 hectares.

The agency said rain had helped stabilize the fire's perimeter, but fire behavior was expected to pick up again over the coming days.

Due to the drought conditions and high intensity of the fire, many hot spots remained throughout the fire area.

Crews continued to work on Sunday to eliminate hot spots in the town and along the perimeter of the fire to prevent further spread toward the community.

Highway 16 remained closed on Sunday between Highway 40 and the Saskatchewan River Crossing, due to the wildfire burning nearby. For more detailed information on that and other road closures, visit Alberta 511.