Fire Information Update
Boundary Wildfire – Waterton Lakes National Park: August 26, 2018; 20:30
An Evacuation Alert continues to be in effect for all of Waterton Lakes National Park. All backcountry areas and hiking trails in Waterton remain closed, including access up the Red Rock Parkway and on water bodies. The safety of the public, our crews, infrastructure and neighbouring lands is always Parks Canada’s priority.
WHAT’S HAPPENING:
The Boundary Wildfire remains entirely in Glacier National Park, U.S.A. The Southwest
Area Type 1 Incident Management Team has been delegated responsibility for the Boundary Wildfire. Parks Canada and U.S. fire managers are coordinating efforts closely and are in constant communication about fire activity and response.
This morning, a Parks Canada helicopter bucketed water on a hot spot on the north side of Boundary Creek. The aerial crew coordinated with U.S. National Park Service personnel monitoring the fire from the ground.
The U.S. Type 1 Incident Management Team’s aerial crews used a helicopter-mounted device to bring the fire to the edge of avalanche paths where the rain and firefighters can more effectively extinguish the fire. Highly trained specialists take into account weather, terrain, fire behaviour, fire control and smoke management before initiating burn out operations. Higher humidity values moderated the amount of fuel burned out, but the operation resulted in creeping surface fire and intermittent torching of individual and clumps of trees in the fire guard.
Rain is still in the forecast, with 10mm to 20mm of rain expected to fall between 20:30 tonight through until Monday. This weather change may limit fire spread but will not extinguish the fire.
WHAT’S OPEN AND CLOSED: ALL OF WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK IS CLOSED, with the exception of:
· The Townsite, businesses and tourism opportunities are available
· Highway 5/6 including Entrance Road to Townsite
· Chief Mountain Highway
QUICK FIRE FACTS
Location: Boundary Creek Valley, Glacier National Park, USA
Size: Approximately 860 hectares
Status: Out of control
Parks Canada Resources: 2 helicopters, initial attack team, local incident management team
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• The safety of the public, our crews, park infrastructure and neighbouring lands is always Parks Canada’s number one priority.
• Waterton’s Boundary Wildfire website https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/
• Boundary Wildfire Glacier National Park: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
• Parks Canada fire crews continue to monitor for new wildfires in all the mountain national parks and are ready with the resources to respond quickly.