Smoke from a nearby wildfire that can be seen east of Fort McMurray is being considered held by Alberta Wildfire.
Wildfire MWF-025 is located roughly 30 km east of Fort McMurray and has grown from 65 to 1554 hectares in size since the weekend.
According to Wildfire Information Officer, Colby Lachance, the fire is being monitored closely as it’s in a wildfire management zone.
“It’s being held within the old burn of the Horse River Fire in 2016 and we let wildfires play out their natural role on the landscape, however, if the Wildfire situation changes, we’re ready to respond,” explained Lachance. “We have wildland firefighters available and ready to respond, which include 56 firefighters, one heavy equipment group which is usually about three dozers, and 17 helicopters all within the Fort McMurray Forest Area.”
“There’s also a creek running along the north flank of the wildfire preventing further spread.”
Seeing wildfire smoke from Fort McMurray may be unsettling, but Lachance claims that the wildfire is moving east away from the city and that it is not a concern for residents at this time.
“We want the public to be aware of the fire ban north of Lake Athabasca in the Fort Chipewyan area and the fire advisory for the rest of the Fort McMurray Forest Area which includes areas south of Lake Athabasca,” Lachance pointed out.