Wildfire risk rises near Calgary as blaze burns west of the city

The wildfire danger rating for the Calgary Forest Area (CFA) has increased as an active blaze burns west of the city.

In an update Thursday, Alberta Wildfire said a break in precipitation, along with warmer, windy days have driven up the overall wildfire danger to moderate, with some pockets of high danger in the CFA.

“Although the forecast is calling for the possibility of some light precipitation in the short term, conditions look mostly stable through the coming week which will lead to a continual climb in the wildfire danger,” Alberta Wildfire said on its website in an update on Thursday.

A four-hectare fire was detected north of Ghost River on Wednesday night and is currently classified as out of control.

Twenty-five wildland firefighters and two helicopters have been deployed to battle the blaze.

Alberta Wildfire noted that smoke from the fire is visible in nearby communities, but it is not currently a threat.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Since the start of the year, crews have responded to 37 wildfires in the CFA, which burned a total of 9.5 hectares.

The Calgary Forest Area includes a large area in southwestern Alberta, stretching from areas west of Carstairs, Cochrane and Calgary, down to west of Pincher Creek.

Across the province, there were 26 active wildfires in the Forest Protection Area as of 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Officials are encouraging Albertans to follow fire restrictions and bans, so firefighting resources are free to tackle harder-to-access and unpreventable wildfires sparked by lightning.

The number of lightning-caused wildfire starts in Alberta rose from one last week to six as of Thursday.

In total, Alberta has seen 386 wildfires since January 1 that have burned 27,973.25 hectares.

You can report wildfires by calling 310-FIRE (3473).

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Alex Antoneshyn