Wildfire danger rated high in West Country

High temperatures have boosted danger in Rocky Mountain Forest Area

Wildfire danger rated high in West Country Published 3:30 pm Friday, July 17, 2026 Soaring temperatures has prompted the province to increase the wildfire danger to high in Rocky Mountain Forest Area. “Recent thunderstorms have brought scattered precipitation across the region, providing temporary relief in some areas. However, these storms are also producing lightning, which can lead to new wildfire starts,” says the Alberta Wildfire site.

Fine fuels, such as grasses and other light vegetation, dry out quickly and can readily support wildfire growth once ignited. Use caution during any activity involving an open flame. The danger is rated very high in an area along the David Thompson Highway and the North Saskatchewan River in the Abraham Lake area.

Fire bans are in place in a number of areas popular with West Country visitors. Marshybank Ecological Reserve, 90 km southwest of Edson; Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve, south of Abraham Lake; Whitegoat Wilderness Area, 60 km southwest of Nordegg; and Siffleur Wilderness Area, 60 km southwest of Nordegg all have fire bans in place. When a fire ban is in effect all open fires, including campfires and fires with charcoal briquettes are banned, as are all wood fires inside park facilities, including those within a device.

Permitted are portable propane fire pits contained within designated fire pits and gas or propane stoves and barbeques designed for cooking or heating. There were 17 active wildfires – none of them considered dangerous – in Alberta as of July 17. There have been 572 fires since fire season began, including 52 in Rocky Mountain Forest Area.

Fires have burned 43,915 acres (17,772 hectares) of forest.