Officials say 1,017,000 hectares have burned so far in 2023 due to wildfires. (Photo: Whitecourt Wildfire Information office)

By Jeff Henson

Alberta forest land scorched by 2023 wildfires surpasses one million hectares mark

May 23, 2023 | 9:10 PM

GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB – The amount of Alberta forest land burned by wildfires so far this year has hit an ominous figure. Officials say 1,017,000 hectares have burned so far in 2023.

Alberta Wildfire Information Officer Christie Tucker said that makes this year the most destructive spring for forest land burned in the province’s history.

Tucker stated, “We do have one larger number for the entire fire season. The fire season ends at the end of October. So, for this time of the year, yes this is an extraordinary year.”

She added, “We have not seen numbers like this in Alberta on record, and it is something that illustrates what we have been saying about the unusual nature of this fire season.”

The record for an entire year was set back in 1984 when 1.3 million hectares of forest land was burned.

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At over 124,000 hectares in size, the Eagle Complex fires near Fox Creek and Little Smoky are some of the largest out of control wildfires currently burning in Alberta.

Tucker said fighting a fire of that size does present some logistical challenges.

“We certainly have a lot of area to cover. We do have priority areas which are areas that show the most potential for reaching communities. We do have firefighters that focus on creating fire breaks as much as they can skirting around the outside of a fire of that size,” she noted.

Tucker added that progress is being made on the Eagle Complex blazes.

“They have been working very hard on building dozer guards, and we are continuing small-scale burnout operations which consist of removing some of the fuel and helping to reinforce that guard near the communities,” she said.

There are 1,213 firefighters from across Canada and the United States currently assisting in battling the wildfires across Alberta. Tucker said more help is expected in the coming days.

“Including a team from Parks Canada and 96 firefighters from the U-S. Towards the end of the week, we are also expecting additional help from New Zealand and Australia.”

There are 71 active wildfires across Alberta as of Tuesday afternoon, May 23, 2023, with 20 of those fires listed as being out of control.