'Not unusual': Alberta records 56 new wildfires over Canada Day long weekend

The air quality index for Edmonton remained at a 3 in the afternoon Monday but an asterisk notes that in areas where smoke is prevalent, the air quality decreases and becomes a 7 .As of Monday, 107 active wildfires are being reported on the Alberta Wildfire dashboard, 58 of which are listed as being under control, 36 are being held and 13 remain out of control. Of the current wildfires burning, 57 were said to be caused by lightning, 11 were human caused, and 39 remain under investigation.

Last year, the province saw a total of 1,246 wildfires that burned 130,858 hectares of land. This time last year, there would have been 527 wildfires burning in the province.According to the province’s wildfire danger map, the risk of wildfires is heavily concentrated in the northernmost portions of the province including a very high risk in the High Level Forest Area, and high risks in the Peace River and Grande Prairie areas.

Firefighters are able to work a wildfire for 14-18 days but Forsythe says they need to be rotated out to give them time to rest. Forsythe says the big challenge now is finding replacements to step in and take up those spots.

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