Recent precipitation and improved weather, as well as the tremendous efforts of firefighters, are being credited with helping reduce wildfires that burn in Alberta..Some residents who were evacuated are now allowed to return home.."In the past 24 hours, some communities announced re-entry plans while others are preparing for re-entry. Nevertheless, the threat of wildfires continues and residents need to remain vigilant," said Bre Hutchinson, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.."Right now, eight reception centres are open for affected areas, and the total number of evacuation orders now stands at 11. The Edmonton reception centre closed yesterday and the Calgary reception centre will be ceasing operations this afternoon.".As of Wednesday, there are currently 65 active wildfires in the Forest Protection Area. Of those, 17 are out of control.."The extreme rate of growth we saw on these wildfires earlier this month has now slowed. Over the past few days firefighters have been able to make significant progress on wildfires," said Christie Tucker, information unit manager of Alberta Wildfire.."The season isn't over and we're planning for what will be needed over the coming months to extinguish the large complex wildfires that we've had this year.".Tucker said new assistance in the firefighting efforts is arriving every day in Alberta.."Today we're welcoming a Hercules air tanker from California, which has the capacity to hold 3,000 gallons of water. Tomorrow 325 firefighters from New Zealand will arrive followed by nearly 200 from Australia over the weekend," Tucker said.."I will say the weather conditions gave firefighters a big helping hand because rain is not enough to actually significantly change a fire that's burning out of control to suddenly become extinguished. There's a lot of work that's done by people on the ground, directing the wildfire and working on extinguishing areas that may still flare up."
