All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
Take action to protect your property if you live in a forested area and obey local fire bans or restrictions.
That was the message of Wednesday's weekly Alberta wildfire update.
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
More than 172 wildfires have already been extinguished across the province in 2024.
Officials say the fire risk is high because of dry and windy conditions.
"I urge you to assess your property for wildfire danger and take any preventive action you can to address these risks," Todd Loewen, minister for forestry and parks, said at the Wednesday update.
"This includes breaking up fuel sources that could ignite a structure, removing trees in close proximity to your home, and properly maintaining your gutters and roofs to rid the materials that could easily ignite such as leaves and dry needles."
Loewen also reminded Albertans to be aware of fire bans or restrictions issued in their community.
"These preventative measures play a crucial role in reducing human caused wildfires when risk levels are high," he said.
"We expect that almost all of the wildfires we've experienced so far this year are human caused, given the point we're at in the season and the types of weather we're seeing."
Alberta Wildfire information officer Josee St-Onge says cool, wet weather is forecasted for many parts of the province, but it may not be enough to mitigate the fire risk.
"We need significant and continued rain to overcome the drought conditions that we are experiencing across many parts of the province," she said.
"Snow has melted and exposed dead and dry vegetation which is extremely flammable for wildfire. Until vegetation green-up happens, wildfires will easily ignite and can spread very quickly."
The province is expected to provide another wildfire update next Thursday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Mexico president says Canada has a 'very serious' fentanyl problem
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is not escalating a war of words with Mexico, after the Mexican president criticized Canada's culture and its framing of border issues.
Freeland says it was 'right choice' for her not to attend Mar-a-Lago dinner with Trump
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says it was 'the right choice' for her not to attend the surprise dinner with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Friday night.
Quebec doctors who refuse to stay in public system for 5 years face $200K fine per day
Quebec's health minister has tabled a bill that would force new doctors trained in the province to spend the first five years of their careers working in Quebec's public health network.
NDP won't support Conservative non-confidence motion that quotes Singh
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he won't play Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's games by voting to bring down the government on an upcoming non-confidence motion.
Speaker's ruling clears path for Trudeau's government to face successive tests of confidence in days ahead
After rallying his party's caucus and staffers on Parliament Hill Tuesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh signalled that he's still not ready to help the other opposition parties trigger an early election, yet.
Opposition leaders talk unity following Trudeau meeting about Trump, minister calls 51st state comment 'teasing'
The prime minister’s emergency meeting with opposition leaders on Tuesday appears to have bolstered a more united front against U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
Calgary man who drove U-Haul over wife sentenced to 15 years
A Calgary man who killed his wife in 2020 when he drove over her in a loaded U-Haul has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
Man severely injured saving his wife from a polar bear attack in the Far North
A man was severely injured Tuesday morning when he leaped onto a polar bear to protect his wife from being mauled in the Far North community of Fort Severn.
Canada is pausing private refugee sponsorship applications until 2026
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says that the recent pause in most private refugee sponsorships is because there is an 'oversupply' of applications and they don't want to give people fleeing war zones false hope.