Wildfire dangers persist in Calgary’s forest region | Forest fires in Canada

The danger of forest fires in the Calgary forest region remains very high, Alberta authorities warn.

Favorable conditions

An advisory was issued due to high temperatures, strong winds and low precipitation, explains Anastasia Drummond, forest fire information officer for the Calgary Forest Region.

She emphasizes that the presence of dry fuels on the ground, particularly autumn leaves, promotes rapid spread in the event of a forest fire. It becomes very difficult to turn offnote Anastasia Drummond.

A long weekend above seasonal norms

Anastasia Drummond notes that no significant precipitation is forecast in the coming days. This is a challenge for us, because all the vegetation is dead and dried out, so it does not retain moisture.

What we need at this time of year is rain every few days, which would help us a lot.

In Calgary, temperatures could reach 20 degrees Celsius on Sunday and 26 degrees Celsius on Monday. Which is well above seasonal norms, underlines Natalie Hassell, meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada.

These warm temperatures are expected to continue over the coming week.

Call for vigilance

As warm weather approaches, authorities are calling for vigilance during outdoor activities.

These dry conditions will continue, so we need to be even more careful than we normally would.

Campfires remain authorized, but authorities ask citizens to keep them small, monitor them and, above all, put them out properly.

Anastasia Drummond notes that small forest fires have started due to poorly extinguished campfires or fireworks. The latter are prohibited, she recalls.

It’s hard because it’s fall and people feel like wildfire season is over, but that’s not the case.

Although no fires are currently active in the Calgary Forest Region, 85 forest fires have been recorded there this year.

We understand that there may be some fatigue with fire season and fire danger, but we are still in the middle of wildfire season, particularly in this part of Albertarecalls Anastasia Drummond.

She emphasizes that the danger will persist until the snow falls. However, Anastasia Drummond adds that it is not uncommon for forest fires to persist even during the off-season, particularly due to Chinook winds, still warm days and fuels remaining under the snow.

She calls on citizens to report fires to 310-FIRE as quickly as possible if they witness them. The sooner we act, the sooner we can control them and prevent them from spreading.

With information from Anne-Marie Trickey and Dave Gilson