National Wildland Fire Situation Report

National Wildland Fire Situation Report

Archived reports

Current as of: May 31, 2023

• Data courtesy of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
• Check the Air Quality Health Index for air quality in your area.

Priority fires

Nova Scotia:

09-011-2023 near the Halfax Suburb of Tantallon estimated 837 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

03-010-2023 Shellburne County estimated 17,186 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

New Brunswick:

61884 north of Saint Andrews estimated 540 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

Alberta:

Fort Chipewyan, Mikisew Cree Nation MWF025 approximately 7km from Fort Chipewyan and 2.4 km north of Allison Bay – estimated 3,000 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

Peace Riverbank GWF018 Clearhills County (Cleardale, Worsley) estimated 47,687 ha in size and currently listed as out of control

Saulteaux Complex SWF085/086/087 (Municipality of Lesser Slave Lake along the Old Smith Highway) estimated 39/4,742/1,036 ha in size and currently listed being held.

Long Lake Fire HWF036 – (Mackenzie County, Town of Rainbow Lake, Dene Tha’ First Nation) estimated 135,291 in size and currently listed as out of control.

Eagle Fire Complex WWF023/GWF027 – (Town of Fox Creek, M.D. of Greenview, Little Smoky) estimated 73,479/55,344 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

Carrot Lake SWF081 – (Municipal District of Opportunity, Chipewyan Lake) estimated 20,083 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

Grizzley Complex SWF057/063/064) – (Swan River First Nation, Big Lakes County Enilda and Banana Belt, East Prairie Metis Nation, Driftpile First Nation, Sucker Creek First Nation) estimated 16,728/123,670/40,060 ha in size and currently listed as out of control

Paskwa Fire HWF030 – Fox Lake, Garden River estimated 75,600 ha in size and currently listed as being held.

Sturgeon Lake Complex GWF011/023 – (Municipal District of Green view Sandy Bay and area, Hamlet of Grovedale, Town of Valleyview, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation) estimated 5,752/3,869 ha in size and currently listed as being held.

Kimiwan Complex (PWF038, SWF068) – (Peavine Metis Settlement, Gift Lake Metis Settlement, Big Lakes County, Northern Sunrise County) estimated 6,130/119,916 ha in size PWF038 is currently listed as being held and SWF068 is currently listed as out of control. .

Deep Creek Complex EWF035, WCU001/002 – (Woodlands County, Evansburg, Entwhistle, Wildwood, Lobstick, Hansonville, Shinging Bank) estimated 6,281/2,477/19,592 ha in size, EWF035 is currently listed as out of control, and WCU001/002 are currently listed as being held.

Pembina Creek Complex RWF031/034/040 – (Town of Edson, Yellowhead County, Sunchild First Nation, O’Chiese First Nation) estimated 125,033/87,108/5,089 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

British Columbia:

G80280 – Donnie Creek Fire estimated 168,395 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

Saskatchewan:

23BN-AARON Northeast of La Loche – estimated 200 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

23BN-NRIE02 near the Community of Turnor Lake– estimated 55 ha in size and currently listed as out of control

23N-VERMETTE Southwest of Dillon (St. George’s Hill, Michel Village) estimated 76,411 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

23LX-SHAW Southeast of Dillon (Buffalo Narrows, Buffalo River Dene Nation) estimated 147,077 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

23LA-WISTIGO Southeast of Pinehouse Lake estimated 67,766 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

23LA-SHARP North of La Ronge estimated 17,965 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

23DB-KPIR02 South of Deschambault Lake estimated 8,843 ha in size and currently listed as out of control.

Northwest Territories:

FS001-23 south of Sambaa K;e estimated 98,000 ha in size total, with 49,548ha within Northwest Territories borders, currently listed as out of control.

SS005-23 Kát?'odeeche First Nation/Hay River Fire estimated 3,209 ha ha in size and currently listed as being held.

Interagency mobilization

Canada is at national preparedness level 5, indicating full commitment of national resources is ongoing, demand for resources is extreme, and international resources are being mobilized. Nova Scotia is at Preparedness Level 5, Alberta and Saskatchewan are at Preparedness Level 4, Quebec, Northwest Territories, Parks Canada and Ontario are at Preparedness Level 3, and all other agencies are at Preparedness Level 1 or 2. Nationally, the number of fires is well above average for this time of year and nearly 12 times the average for area burned for this time of year. There was 267 net new fire starts, with 58 of those attributed to lightning-caused starts reported over the last week. At the time of this report, aircraft, personnel, and equipment have been mobilized to Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Northwest Territories from across Canada. There are American, Australilan, and New Zealand personne, crews active in Canada, with personnel from South Africa arriving on the weekend. The United States is at preparedness level 2.

Weekly Synopsis

Nova Scotia - A province-wide ban on open fires is in effect because of dry conditions. Open fires are not permitted anywhere in the province. The ban applies to fires in provincial parks and private campgrounds. It also applies to backyard campfires, brush burning and fireworks. As of 28 May 8pm, burning for any reason is not permitted in woodsor within 1000 feet of woods in Queens, Lunenburg, Shelburne, Yarmouth, Digby, Annapolis and Kings counties, including private campground and backyard fires.

New Brunswick has a category 1 (no burn) fire restriction across the entire province. Prince Edward Island has issued a ban on outdoor brush fires in all counties.

The Province of Alberta has declared a State of Emergency in response to the spring wildfires. Currently in Alberta, there fire bans, restrictions or advisories across the entire province. Multiple evacuation orders due to proximity and smoke in the norther regions of the province are still in effect.

Northwest Territories has high to extreme fire danger in the following regions: North Slave, South Slave, and Dehcho. Camp fires are not recommended unless it is necessary for food or warmth. The Town of Fort Smith has a fire ban on open air fires, Camp stoves, enclosed BBQs and propane-fueled cooking and heating devices are permitted.

British Columbia has category 2 and three bans across the province, however campfires are allowed in all but the Prince George Fire Region.

Saskatchewan has widespread fire bans across the north and northwest of the province.

Manitoba has motorized backcountry travel including ATVs and other off road vehicles restricted in the south east corner of the province.

Ontario has no provincial fire ban in place; however, there is a restricted fire zone in the eastern portion of the province. Multiple provincial parks do not allow campfires or open fires.

Quebec has a province wide ban on open fires.

Yukon and Newfoundland and Labrador have no provincial/territorial fire restrictions in place.

A stubborn high pressure area parked over the Great Lakes is maintaining generally dry conditions across most of eastern Canada. A messy low pressure system in the western USA is feeding moisture northwards, with weak lows forming in the lee of the Canadian Rockies, generating showers and thundershowers across central Alberta and other prairie regions. Much of the Canadian landscape remains dry with a high probability of continued fire activity and new starts in most provinces and territories.

Prognosis

The high pressure area over the Great Lakes on Wednesday, May 31 is slowly bumped westward as an Arctic storm system is forced southward behind a broad blocking high pressure ridge in the North Atlantic. This unusual movement will allow conditions to gradually dry and temperatures to rise in much of western Canada. An incoming Arctic air mass will contribute to a band of showers and thundershowers in central Ontario and Quebec, which will gradually move southward across the Atlantic region on Friday and Saturday (June 2-3). In the west, a storm system sitting along the central BC coast will help drive warm air northward across western Canada into the Arctic islands by the June 3-4 weekend. By Tuesday, June 6, a strong storm system is likely to develop along the Atlantic coast, providing a general rain in eastern Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces over the middle of the week. Fire weather indexes will slowly rise in many areas but should temporarily drop in the Atlantic Provinces on Friday and Saturday, then again by the middle of the week of June 4. Western regions will have rising indexes with spotty areas of showers and thundershowers temporarily dropping values in scattered locations.

Current graphs