People living the Saprae Creek subdivision, outside Fort McMurray, have been put on alert due to a wildfire burning a kilometre east of their neighbourhood.
“This wildfire is threatening the access in and out of the community, but not the community itself,” said wildfire information officer Janelle Lane.
Lane said the fire, which covers 1.5 hectares, can be seen from town. While it does not appear to be growing, officials are going door-to-door within the subdivision, warning people to be ready to leave if the situation worsens.
Around 20 firefighters are currently trying to put out the fire, along with heavy machinery and airtankers. The fire was first reported at 4 p.m. Saturday.
No lightning has been reported in the area, leading Lane to believe the fire was human-caused. She asked people to check online for potential fire bans before doing any burning.
“Even though we’ve had a small amount of rain, that hasn’t made a big enough impact to lessen the wildfire hazard.”
Lane said firefighters are still working to get a fire on the Cold Lake Weapons Range under control, although that wildfire had not grown over the past two days. Firefighters are currently reinforcing the guard they set up around the blaze in anticipation for dry weather predicted for next week.
