Fire grows near Pine Lake, in Wood Buffalo National Park

A wildfire near Pine Lake in Wood Buffalo National Park continues to grow in size. On Monday, the fire in northern Alberta was last estimated to be 12,077 hectares.

At the same time, there has been a bit of relief. Park officials said the area received approximately 4 millimetres of rain over the weekend, and crews were also able to complete structure protection on all properties in the Pine Lake area. They also mapped out a more accurate fire perimeter.

Four bulldozers were on site Monday to refresh fire breaks, and had only two left to complete. Fire breaks are put in place to try and stop the spread of the fire by removing trees and vegetation.

David Tavernini, park's acting fire program manager, said the environment has presented a lot of challenging conditions, which has contributed to the fire's growth.

"We have been in really prolonged drying conditions for almost the last two months," he said. "The fuels out there are extremely dry and ready to ignite."

Crews have also been dealing with a lot of smoke due to wind and atmospheric conditions.

"It limits our ability to get aircraft off the ground because they can't safely fly," Tavernini said.

The fire was last estimated to be within nine kilometres of Pine Lake. Although Pine Lake is only 65 kilometres from Fort Smith, N.W.T., officials said the fire still poses no risk to that community.

Crews were hoping that higher humidity and some rain would provide an opportunity for more work on the ground this week, allowing firefighters to limit the growth of the fire.

Road closures on Monday were still in place from Parson's Lake Road to Peace Point. Access to the Pine Lake area is prohibited until further notice.