Reuters — Firefighters were counting on rain and cooler weather forecast for Monday to help them quell a dramatic start to Alberta’s wildfire season.
The province declared a state of emergency on Saturday in response to wildfires in northern and central regions that have displaced nearly 30,000 people and prompted energy producers to shut in at least 185,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), about two per cent of Canada’s output.
As of Monday evening the province was reporting 88 wildfires still active, with 25 classified as out-of-control.
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“We’re crossing our fingers. We need rain big-time,” said John Kokotilo, fire chief for Lac La Biche county.
Some 80 firefighters arrived from Quebec and Ontario to help efforts, with more expected from other provinces.
Alberta has formally requested assistance from the federal government, Premier Danielle Smith tweeted, adding she had a “very productive call” with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“We talked a lot about the different ways the federal government can help and we will be working to make sure that we’re supporting Albertans right across the province as necessary,” Trudeau said in televised remarks.
Christie Tucker, spokesperson for Alberta’s wildfire agency, said on Sunday the season was “unprecedented in recent memory” because there are so many fires, spread so widely.
Alberta is Canada’s biggest cattle-producing province. Some ranchers were moving livestock away from fires to rodeo grounds or other public places, but no cattle are known to have died from fire or smoke, Karin Schmid of Alberta Beef Producers said.
Farmers in some areas are already dealing with drought, and the fires will likely further set back the growth of hay and grass to feed cattle, Schmid added.
Canadian National Railway said Saturday on Twitter that it had “safely suspended” service on its Edson subdivision until further notice due to fires near Edson, about 200 km west of Edmonton.
The Edson subdivision, which runs from Edmonton west to Jasper, is CN’s lone mainline connection through the Rocky Mountains. Parts of the town of Edson and surrounding Yellowhead County were among areas still under evacuation order as of Monday morning.
Parts of Brazeau, Grande Prairie, Big Lakes, Lac Ste. Anne, Parkland and Yellowhead counties and the municipal district of Greenview remained under mandatory evacuation Monday evening, along with communities such as Drayton Valley, Fox Creek, Entwistle and Rainbow Lake.
Canada is also the world’s fourth-largest crude oil producer, and about 80 per cent of its oil comes from Alberta.
The oil and gas shut-ins looked temporary and have had no immediate impact on energy prices, said Mark Oberstoetter, head of Americas upstream research for consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
So far there are no reports of significant damage to infrastructure and production is expected to be restored once the wildfires come under control, BMO Capital Markets said in a note.
NuVista Energy said it has temporarily shut in about 40,000 boepd as a precaution, while TC Energy said it has shut down two compressor stations on its NGTL gas pipeline system, which connects most of the natural gas produced in western Canada to domestic and export markets.
“Other sections of the NGTL system and other pipeline systems continue to operate safely and we continue to monitor the situation closely,” TC said in a statement.
Canadian daily natural gas exports to the U.S. fell to 6.7 billion cubic feet on Sunday, their lowest since April 2021, according to data provider Refinitiv. It was not immediately clear how much of the drop was fire-related.
— Reporting for Reuters by Denny Thomas and Sam Jabri-Pickett in Toronto, Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Scott DiSavino in New York and Nia Williams in British Columbia. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.
