Smoke offers some relief for Alberta firefighters in wildfire battle
CBC
While smoke from wildfires in Alberta has triggered a special air quality statement, provincial officials say it has also helped firefighters control wildfires.
"There's certainly a mixed story for firefighters when it comes to smoke," Christie Tucker, Alberta Wildfire information unit manager, said during a news conference Sunday afternoon.
"We haven't seen the kind of wildfire activity that we would have expected under the forecast conditions this weekend."
Between Friday morning and Sunday morning, the agency recorded five fires starting.
As of Sunday afternoon, 91 wildfires are burning in Alberta. Of the 84 wildfires burning inside forest protection areas, 23 are considered out of control.
"The smoke cover has led to lower fire activity," Tucker said, adding the smoke has had a cooling effect as it blocks out some sunlight.
But one downside is that visibility has been obscured.
"We haven't been able to truly get an accurate assessment of size on a number of the fires for a couple of days since the smoke cover has been thick," she said, adding that experts are monitoring the smoke at all times.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has forecasted rain and cooler temperatures for the first half of next week.
A break in the upper ridge is moving through the province on Sunday and bringing cooler air and more rain, which will be focused in central Alberta on Monday and Tuesday.
Over 500 fires have burned in the province to date this year, destroying over 940,000 hectares.
Evacuation orders due to wildfires remain in effect for about 17 communities across central and northern Alberta. Nearly 10,700 people are waiting for the all-clear to return home.
As evacuations continue, an official from the Alberta Emergency Management Agency cautioned the public from relying on information outside provincial and municipal guidance.
"We recently became aware of evacuees using online maps like Google or Apple Maps to navigate out of an evacuated zone," said Bre Hutchinson, executive director.
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