I am devastated to learn today of the tragic loss of one of our valued Alberta Wildland firefighters, serving the province in the Jasper area. My heart goes out to the family and friends of this front-line hero who had a unwavering commitment to safeguarding our communities. Our deepest condolences also go to his fire-line crew, the 700-person strong team working in Jasper, and the larger Alberta Wildfire community. I know all of you have been deeply impacted by this loss. On behalf of all Albertans, we grieve this terrible news with you.

Our wildfire crews have been hard at work with 23 new fires since may 9. We currently have 3 out of control fires in the province right now and we have crews and equipment working on all of them. GWF-007 NE of Grande Prairie is about 1400ha and is under unified control with the County of GP, MD of Greenview and Alberta Wildfire. MWF017 SW of Ft Mac is about 6500 ha and is in challenging terrain but we were able to get  heavy equipment to it. HTZ-001-2023 is north of High Level crews and equipment are working to keep Hwy 35 open.MWF023 near Ft Chip was reported this morning, is relatively small and we already have retardant lines around it and is now being held.  I want to stress the importance of not being that person that starts a wildfire. If you burned anything on your property over the winter, please take this time to go out and check to make sure it is completely out! This is incredibly important!! Many of the fires we have had were holdover fires. These types of fires can look like they are out but once you check them carefully, they may be hot enough to start up again. Don’t be that person that is the cause of a wildfire that endangers our forests and communities.

Alberta's government wants to assure Albertans that preparations for the 2024 wildfire season have been underway for months, and that we remain committed to keeping Albertans and their communities safe from the impacts of wildfire.1/10