Oil companies in Northern Alberta continue shut in oil gas production, processing plants and pipelines as a safety precaution against raging wildfires scorching the province..Despite some cooler weather, there were still 89 wildfires burning according to the Alberta government’s wildfire website — down from 108 yesterday — 46 are classified as contained while 25 were out of control and another 18 as ‘being held.'. Wildfire dashboard May 8 .The worst fires are geographically concentrated in the northwest quadrant of the province west of the fifth and sixth meridians in an area along the Foothills running from Red Deer to Grande Prairie..It also happens to be the region with the largest concentration of oil and gas facilities. The worst blazes continue to be concentrated around the town of Drayton Valley in the heart of the Pembina oilfield, and Edson which lies in the Duvernay/Montney natural gas fairway..At last count Tuesday morning, the official number was more than 310,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), but the unofficial tally was likely more closer to 500,000 boepd owing to several large producers like Tourmaline Oil that didn’t provide exact figures..Pembina Pipeline reported that a 20-inch line from Fox Creek to Edmonton has been reopened while three gas plants remain closed..Drayton Valley remains under evacuation order while 8,000 Edson residents were allowed to return to their homes yesterday. The Alberta Forest Service reported the Minnow Lake recreation area was overrun. An estimated 25 homes have been destroyed..In Drayton Valley, 7,000 people remain out of their homes, four days after an evacuation order for the town was issued. As of Monday evening the fire was within two kilometres of the town’s southern border..Across the province about 29,000 people remain under evacuation. On Monday the City of Calgary opened the first of two reception centres for evacuees at the Stampede Grounds. The Calgary Fire Department on Monday sent three fire engines and 27 personnel to the Grande Prairie area..As of Sunday the province deployed additional response teams to Parkland County, west of Edmonton and High Level in the extreme northern part of the province..Thus far, spring is shaping up to be a record year for wildfires. There have been 408 fires so far in 2023, compared to 182 at this time last year and 246 in 2021.. Alberta precipitation map May 8 .Despite some cooler, humid weather for the better part of this week, weather forecasters predict an upper ridge to return to northern regions starting on Thursday, resulting in a “critical fire environment” north of Slave Lake.
