Fire Advisory Issued for Canmore and Kananaskis as Hot, Windy Weather Raises Wildfire Risk

The forests around Canmore and Kananaskis are quiet.

No columns of smoke rise above the trees. No communities are under evacuation alert. No wildfire is burning in the Calgary Forest Area.

Yet Tuesday afternoon, Alberta Wildfire issued a fire advisory for the entire region, warning that the calm could change quickly.

The advisory is less about what is happening today than what could happen tomorrow.

Weeks of warm weather, combined with strong winds and drying vegetation, have pushed wildfire danger in the Calgary Forest Area to very high. While no active fires are currently burning in the region, officials say the landscape has become increasingly receptive to ignition, meaning a single spark has a much greater chance of becoming something far more difficult to control.

It is a reminder that wildfire season is often defined as much by potential as by flames.

The Calgary Forest Area stretches from the eastern slopes south of Calgary through Kananaskis Country and includes Canmore and surrounding public lands.

A fire advisory is the first step in Alberta's wildfire alert system. It does not prohibit campfires or close public lands, but it signals that conditions have become concerning enough for officials to begin tightening precautions.

New fire permits will now be issued only on a case-by-case basis, although existing permits remain valid.

Campfires are still permitted, but Alberta Wildfire is urging people to keep them small, attend them at all times and ensure they are fully extinguished before leaving. An unattended campfire can result in a $600 fine in addition to the obvious risk of starting a wildfire.

Fireworks and exploding targets also remain prohibited on public land within the Forest Protection Area unless written permission has been granted by a forest officer.

Since Jan. 1, crews have responded to 38 wildfires in the Calgary Forest Area, burning just over 20 hectares in total. At present, none of those fires remain active.

For now, the message from Alberta Wildfire is straightforward: enjoy the outdoors, but recognize that the margin for error has become much smaller.

The fire advisory will remain in effect until conditions improve.