Current wildfire status (Sweathouse Area) update from Greenview Emergency Operations Centre

June 17, 2023 – 8:00 PM

The following information is the latest update provided by Alberta Forestry’s Incident Command in charge of the fire. Because this is a Forestry fire, they are the lead for firefighting operations and provide Greenview with information approved by them for release.

Greenview strives to provide a timely high-level summary of active wildfires within Greenview and will post updates to evacuation orders and alerts as available and provided by Alberta Forestry and the Province of Alberta, which are incredibly busy managing the current wildfire situation in the province.

Additional interactive map resources:
Fire Information for Resource Management US/CANADA

Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard:
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/3ffcc2d0ef3e4e0999b0cf8b636defa3

Community Meeting for all Residents! | Wednesday June 21, 2023 | 6:00 PM at the Sweathouse Community Hall

All residents in the Sweathouse area are invited to join the MD of Greenview and the Grizzly Incident Management Team for an update on the current fire situation. Please come by the Sweathouse Community Hall at 6:00 pm.

Firefighting operations on SWF095 are being conducted by the Alberta Forestry Incident Management Team on the Grizzly and Saulteaux Complexes. If you have any questions about SWF095 in the Sweathouse area, please email wf.scx0012023-IOF.i@gov.ab.ca

SWEATHOUSE AREA (SWF095)
June 17, 2023 – 8:00 PM

The following information is the latest update provided by Alberta Forestry’s Incident Command in charge of the fire. Because this is a Forestry fire, they are the lead for firefighting operations and provide Greenview with information approved by them for release.

With cooler temperatures over the past 24 hours, there was little change to the Sweathouse area of the wildfire. 80 new firefighters arrived from South Africa today to assist in the firefighting efforts on the Grizzly Complex Fires. SWF095 is located southeast of the Hamlet of Sweathouse and today it remains estimated to be 8,500 ha in size with little growth. Under these current weather conditions, the wildfire is not spreading, and firefighters will continue to make good progress on fighting the wildfire. Helicopters with buckets, heavy equipment and firefighters will continue to focus firefighting efforts on the north and west side of the wildfire. Firefighting activity on the north and west flanks include:

  • 1 Divisional Supervisor
  • 1 Task Force Leader
  • 16 Firetack crew personnel
  • 8 Dozers
  • 4 Excavators
  • 21 Helicopters (Combined use between the Grizzly and Salteaux fires)

We have received +40 millimeters of rain on the wildfires this past week. This much needed moisture has improved the wildfire situation at this time, however a line scan yesterday (June 16) confirmed that the fire is still active and there is still lots of work ahead to ensure these wildfires are contained. At this time, the fire activity continues to be reduced to smouldering ground fires on SWF095.

Firefighting will continue to be focused on preventing wildfire spread to the community of Sweathouse – top priority continues to be working on the north and west side of the wildfire – building fire guards with heavy equipment and firefighters putting out smouldering ground fires.

Cooler temperatures and rain is forecast for tomorrow and next week.

Benign conditions are currently being experienced over the fireground. Rainfall is keeping fire activity low with no current threat to homes. Residents are reminded to remain vigilant and continue to monitor the situation as it may change.

Although Forestry has made substantial progress in mitigating the risk to Sweathouse residents, Greenview continues to have an Evacuation Alert (please be prepared to evaluate in 1 hour) in place for the townships listed below. Also, there was structural sprinkler protection installed for residences closest to the fire damaged area and this extra protection is still in place.

A community meeting has been planned and will take place at the Sweathouse Community Hall on Wednesday 21st June. Members of the MD of Greenview and Grizzly IMT will be in attendance to give an update on the current fire situation.

If you have any questions about SWF095, please email wf.scx0012023-IOF.i@gov.ab.ca

Click to download June 15 PDF Map here.

EVACUATION UPDATES:

June 11, 2023 at 4:00 PM
The M D of Greenview has updated the Evacuation and Downgraded to an Alert.
The Grizzly Complex wildfire (SWF095) is burning southeast of Sweathouse. Everyone in TWP 69-19-W5 and TWP 68-19-W5 (South of TWP RD 700, West of RR 190, North of TWP RD 680, East of RR 200) is allowed to return home but remain on evacuation alert.

Please be prepared to evacuate within 1 hour.

Area: UPDATE Evacuation Downgrade to Alert issued for the following area: Everyone in TWP 69-19-W5 and TWP 68-19-W5 (South of TWP RD 700, West of RR 190, North of TWP RD 680, East of RR 200).

Instruction: Everyone in the affected area must prepare for a possible evacuation. Gather pets, important documents and medication, enough food, water and supplies for at least 3 days. This alert will be updated if an evacuation is required. Stay tuned to www.alberta.ca/emergencyalert, and local media for updates.

Click here to see the June 11, 2023 Evacuation Alert notice and map.

Important Things to Consider:

  • Residents, businesses and industry are encouraged to proactively prepare properties as much as possible in the event of a wildfire. Read more at FireSmart/ Alberta.ca.
  • Emergency preparedness is key. Residents outside the evacuation area are reminded to be prepared by: