Alberta bracing for a long wildfire season fuelled by drought

Alberta is bracing for another challenging fire season and with fire officials urging communities to prepare for conditions to grow more volatile as a summer drought settles in. 

With many communities across the province already parched because of a lack of winter snow cover, officials Thursday urged Albertans to be vigilant in the weeks ahead. 

Christie Tucker, an Alberta Wildfire information unit manager, said crews are preparing for a long and difficult season. 

"While there is a temporary dip in temperatures this week, it doesn't mean that wildfire danger is over," Tucker said during a news conference.

"The drought conditions we've experienced in Alberta mean that it is still possible for trees and grasses to burn, particularly in the high winds that we have been seeing." 

As of Thursday, 50 wildfires are burning across the province. Of those, four are classified as being held and 46 are now classified as under control. 

The provincial total does not include fires burning outside Alberta's forest protection zones. None of the forest fires burning across the province are considered a threat to communities or critical infrastructure.

Tucker said the season began early with crews being deployed to fires that began during last year's unprecedented fire season. The official start of fire season was brought forward 10 days in Alberta in March.  

The vast majority of the fires now burning began last year and smouldered through winter. Only 12 of the current fires ignited this spring.

"We started this year with 64 wildfires still burning from last year," Tucker said.

"While we've been working diligently to extinguish them, it does mean that firefighters are entering the spring with a heavier fire load than usual." 

As of Thursday, the risk of wildfires was ranked from low to high across Alberta with the Lac La Biche and Peace River regions considered at the most risk due to current conditions. 

Many areas in Alberta are dealing with drought conditions, particularly in areas of southern Alberta, where communities are already grappling with how to ration water this summer.

Across the north, meagre snow cover from a dry winter has disappeared quickly, leaving the soil bone-dry.