A fire ban remains in place in the Fort McMurray Forest Area north of Lake Athabasca, which is currently enduring six wildfires that are all considered held at this time.

The wildfire named MWF031 located just north of Fort Chipewyan continues to be considered a wildfire of note and is being actively managed and monitored by firefighters.

Winds continue to push the fire northeast away from the community.

Fire crews that have been deployed to the area are continuing structure protection by deploying equipment such as pumps, hoses, and sprinkler systems on buildings that have been deemed threatened by the wildfire.

Crews were able to conduct a large-scale ignition burn on Wednesday, successfully tying the fire to natural breaks.

Firefighters have established a containment between Flett Lake, Little Rapids and towards the boundary of Wood Buffalo National Park with the intention of preventing the fire from spreading south.

Smoke that had been seen briefly in Fort McMurray Friday morning was due to winds from the east pushing smoke from two smaller fires currently near the Saskatchewan border.

According to FireSmoke.ca, forecasted winds are expected to continue pushing the smoke away from Fort McMurray.

Smoke over Fort McMurray  at around noon on Friday, July 8. (Photo from firesmoke.ca)