A firefighter has been seriously injured in Alberta while battling a wildfire.."Unfortunately, it was reported a firefighter was injured while working on a wildfire," said Christie Tucker, information unit manager at Alberta Wildfire.."I can confirm the firefighter has been seriously injured in the area of East Prairie Settlement. Our hearts sincerely go out to the family and is a reminder to all of us about the challenges faced by firefighters and the risks involved with wildfire.".Out of respect for the family, Trucker would not share details of the injuries.."I don't have any specific details that I can share at this time. I know there are a lot of firefighters working across the province and as we've seen there are obviously risks to this profession. And it's something that people are aware of," Tucker said.."We have safety training, they have strict safety specific as we highlighted, we prioritize the safety of firefighters very highly. So we're all part of the firefighting family because nobody wants to see an injury, particularly a bad injury but no, I have no further details on any other injuries that I can share right now.".There are 91 active wildfires in the forest protection area of Alberta and 27 are classified as out of control, according to the latest figures.."The fire danger is extreme in the northern part of Alberta, with hot, dry, windy conditions expected to persist in the coming days," Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said..Our number one priority is that we fight these fires and we deal with extreme fire conditions in order to protect human life. It's important that we are all doing our parts to support these numbers..Ellis said that includes being mindful of the higher risks this long weekend as temperatures are expected to climb again.."It will be critical to avoid any activities that might start fires or make the current situation worse," Ellis said..Ellis said smoke also continues to be an issue affecting air quality throughout Alberta. A special air quality statement remains in place.."Keep in mind that a number of 10 or higher indicates extremely poor air quality. It's clear that the smoke from these fires continues to be a concern for both health and disability. In areas of very poor air quality people should consider staying inside as much as possible," Ellis said.."I'll be very blunt. This situation does remain very volatile. We must remain vigilant.".Alberta continues to be under a provincial state of emergency and the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre remains at level four, the top level..In addition, there are 22 states of local emergency as well as five band council resolutions..Currently, 11,990 Albertans remained evacuated at this time, and there are 14 reception centres open for affected areas. The total number of evacuation orders now stands at 19. All residents who are evacuating should register at the nearest reception centre line.
