The province has 1,600 people on the ground fighting wildfires and supporting the nearly 5,000 people who have been evacuated. Wildfire Information Officer Geoff Driscoll said Tuesday that there were 70 wildfires currently burning in the province, with more expected to start overnight from lightning.
“Even if there’s not any more lightning, the warm and dry weather is going to pop any fires that might have happened over the past few days that we just haven’t seen yet. So that’s why we have these firefighters all over Alberta ready and waiting to be able to attack those fires as quickly as possible.”
20 of those wildfires are considered out of control, with the ones near Wabasca, Slave Lake, and Cold Lake. Driscoll argues that the Slave Lake fire isn’t comparable to the one in 2011 as it’s further away and the wind isn’t as strong.
There are 100 firefighters from Ontario on the ground, and the government is considering asking for help from other jurisdictions.