The fire danger in the Yellowhead County Fire permit area is currently VERY HIGH.

Please be advised that:
A fire advisory is now in effect for the Yellowhead County Fire permit area due to current and forecasted weather conditions. Fine fuels and woody debris are very dry and could ignite easily from any spark, friction or hot exhaust. We ask that you use additional caution when working and recreating outdoors.

Normally, the cooler nights this time of year would be helping the moisture recover in forest fuels but that has not been the case according to weather station readings in most of our area. The lack of precipitation this season and the very hot temperatures has kept the fuels from properly recovering, which makes them easier to ignite and continue to burn. This and the cross-over conditions that we are seeing today and possibly throughout the week, could create an environment where extreme fire behaviour would be observed in the event of a wildfire.

We want to take a moment to remind industry to have sufficient firefighting equipment while working in the forest protection area as per the Forest Prairie and Protection Act. If you are using an ATV, ensure that your are aware of the hotspots and clean them out regularly. Keep watch of your surroundings when working and if you see smoke or flame in the forest, report it to 911 as soon as possible.

At this time, there are no changes to existing permits and any new permits will be considered on a case by case basis.

For personal information, the public and residents in the Yellowhead County Fire permit area can continue to use a fire pit, charcoal briquettes on a barbecue, or a safe campfire and recreational off-highway vehicles.

*Safe wood campfires – should be within a metal, brick, or rock fire ring. They are required to:
1. a) be on rock, gravel, sand, or another non-combustible surface that extends at least one metre around the fire;
2. b) have a responsible person in attendance to keep fire under control at all times and extinguish before leaving;
3. c) have on hand enough water on site to extinguish the fire.
The fire advisory will remain in place until conditions improve.

To view the fire danger map in the province, click here: https://wildfire.alberta.ca/files/ffirehaz.gif

For the latest Wildfire Danger Rating and the latest Fire Advisory Level updates, go to https://srd.web.alberta.ca/edson-area-update