Alberta Wildfire Information Unit Manager Christie Tucker said there are 45 wildfires burning in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta. At the moment, Alberta Wildfire has classified two of these wildfires as out of control, with one of them in the County of Grande Prairie having this designation. “As expected, over the weekend, we saw warm, dry, and windy conditions, particularly in the north of the province, and we had 18 new wildfires start between Friday morning and Sunday evening,” said Tucker at a Monday press conference. “Firefighters and staff worked over the weekend to contain the out-of-control wildfires, although we did see some growth in strong winds.” Alberta Wildfire classified the wildfire 16 kilometres southeast of Fort McMurray as out of control at 6,500 hectares. Tucker pointed out light rain showers are expected late Monday, “which will help lower that wildfire activity and give firefighters a window to continue making progress on containing that fire.” It is assisting the County of Grande Prairie with a wildfire four kilometres east of Teepee Creek that is out of control at 1,300 hectares. She predicted fire behaviour could increase, and there is no anticipated precipitation in that area. Over the next few days, scattered showers will happen in Alberta. However, high wildfire danger remains in northern Alberta and at an extreme level in the Grande Prairie area. She said it is against the law to fly drones near wildfires. If people fly drones near wildfires, she said they can be endangering firefighters and cause their operations to stop. Tucker concluded by saying people should let firefighters do their jobs. To obtain the latest information about wildfires, she said people can go to Alberta Wildfire’s or the government’s websites. Alberta Emergency Management Agency Director of Field Operations Josh Morin said the last few days have seen two local authorities issue evacuation orders and one issue an evacuation alert. “Evacuation orders are critical instructions issued by local authorities when an immediate evacuation is required for life safety,” said Morin. “Evacuation alerts are advisory in nature and are issued to prepare people for a possible evacuation order if the situation deteriorates.” On Friday, the County of Grande Prairie and the Municipal District of Greenview issued evacuation orders because of wildfires. Morin said the particular boundaries are available on their websites. Tucker followed up by saying she wants to take action now to let people it is against the law to fly drones over wildfires. “Certainly if people are identified for flying drones and they are found to be interfering with our firefighting, action can be taken legally to pursue people through the legal system because they are breaking the law,” she said. “But I think the first point is just to make sure that every one knows it’s illegal.” While people might be curious about the wildfire situation and drones are part of life, she said they should know if they see anyone operating them illegally that they do not do it. If people are caught flying drones near wildfires, they can be charged with interfering with firefighting operations. The County of Grande Prairie put out an evacuation order because of a wildfire on Friday. READ MORE: County of Grande Prairie demands residents evacuate due to wildfireThis order is in effect from Kleskun Creek north to Township Road 742. It includes the Riverstone Golf Course.“A wildfire is located four kilometres East of Teepee Creek at approximately Range Road 31 and Township Road 740,” said Alberta Emergency Alert.
