With wildfires burning on nearly every border, the Fort McMurray wildfire management area of the provincial Environment and Sustainable Resource Development department is ramping-up preparations in their own district.

The local team received an additional five firefighters from Ontario, as part of the 126 firefighters who arrived in Alberta from Ontario on Friday.

According to Robyn Haugen, a spokesperson for the Fort McMurray area, one senior firefighter has been dispatched to Fort Chipewyan, while the other four are stationed in Fort McMurray.

“We are pre-positioned to be able to manage anything that comes up,” she says. “Obviously it is still hot and dry out, and we're not expecting a whole bunch of relief in the forecasted future. So we are prepared.”

As of Sunday afternoon, fires were burning in the neighbouring Lac La Biche and Slave Lake areas, as well as across the border in Saskatchewan. The fire near Cold Lake, Alta. had grown to 10,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of all staff at Cenovus' Foster Creek and Athabasca Gas operations.

“Obviously, we're keeping an eye on everything that's going on,” Haugen says. “And we are prepositioned, and we're manned-up.”

“This is what we prepare for all year. This is what we train for, this is what we practice for.”

The department has been flying routine helicopter air patrols throughout most of Wood Buffalo during the fire season. They're also relying on tips that come in through the 310-FIRE line to spot potential wildfires.

Much of Northern Alberta has been placed under an elevated fire hazard warning. Fort McMurray has been placed under an extreme wildfire hazard warning, and Haugen has said that officials are considering instituting a fire restriction for the provincially controlled areas.

A fire restriction would ban campfires and open fires in “backcountry or random camping areas.”

“We're asking people to absolutely make sure their campfires are fully extinguished,” Haugen says. “And to make sure if they're quadding or using their Off Highway Vehicles out in the forested areas that they're making sure they knock off the hot debris and they look behind them for any smouldering”

“This is crucial, crucial right now.”

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The wildfire that the water bomber pilot was fighting when he was crashed on Friday is now making it difficult for investigators to get to the crash site.

Cpl Mike Dunsmore has confirmed that the plane crash at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 22nd on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range was fatal. The Department of National Defence Search and Rescue helped recover the pilot’s body late on Friday from the scene of the crash.

Smoke from the wildfire near Cold Lake that the pilot was fighting. (Photo Credit: Alberta Wildfire Info)

RCMP say that the pilot was a 38-year-old male and the sole occupant of the aircraft. He was a civilian pilot who was flying an Air Tractor water bomber, specifically an AT802 Fireboss. Both he and the plane were under contract to Alberta Environment and Sustainable Development (ESRD) and were there as part of the firefighting operations.

The pilot worked with Conair Aerial Firefighting, and the Director of Business Development Jeff Berry says that this was the pilot's fourth season with Conair.

The pilot’s next of kin have been notified. RCMP are not releasing the man’s identity.

Wildland LODD - COLD LAKE, Alta. — A small air tanker crashed Friday 100 K east of Lac La Biche, AB killing 37-year-old pilot & passenger.

May 23, 2015

The Office of the Medical Examiner will be helping to determine the cause of the death, and investigators from the Transportation Safety Board are working to determine the cause of the crash. However, the wildfire conditions in the area have made it difficult to access the crash site. The scene has been secured for investigators.

Alberta Premier Designate Rachel Notley has released a statement on the pilot’s death. “On behalf of the Government of Alberta and all Albertans, I offer my deepest sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of the pilot who lost his life protecting our province from a threatening wildfire.”

Similar aircraft to that in the Cold Lake crash. (Photo Credit: Air Tractor)

“First responders like this pilot, and our many other dedicated wildland fire fighters, put their lives on the line every day to ensure that our homes and families are safe,” said Notley. “We owe them our most sincere gratitude. Even as they mourn the loss of one of their own, I know they will continue fighting the many fires burning within our borders.”

On Sunday, the Alberta Wildfire Management Branch reported that the fire near Cold Lake had grown to about 6000 hectares.

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The body of a 38-year-old pilot whose plane crashed Friday while fighting wildfires Northwest of Cold Lake has been recovered.

 According to the Cold Lake RCMP, the man, whose identity is not being released, was the sole occupant of the aircraft that crashed near Burnt Lake on the Cold Lake Air Weapons range  on May 22.

An out-of-control fire that started on May 22 is burning nearby. By Saturday afternoon, the blaze had grown to 4,000 hectares.

The pilot was flying an Air Tractor AT-802 "Fire boss" amphibious water bomber for Conair Aerial Firefighting, under contract to Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD).

The pilot's body was recovered with the help of the search and rescue team from 4 Wing Cold Lake.

"In the crash situation, we did launch 417 combat support squadron to provide over watch support with their helicopter equipment," said 4 Wing spokesperson Lt. Mat Strong. "They did lower one of their (search and rescue) techs to the ground to assist with the recovery of ... the downed pilot."

Strong extended condolences to the family and loved ones of the pilot.

Strong said the base was also supporting firefighting efforts by assisting with access to the weapons range. ESRD is taking the lead on the firefighting, he said.

On Saturday morning, the road to the crash site was closed, as was public access to the range. By Saturday afternoon, the road was "engulfed" in flames, an ESRD spokesperson said.

According to the RCMP, though "wildfire conditions in the area are making access to the crash site difficult ... the scene has been secured for investigators."

Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board were dispatched to the site and are working to determine the cause of the crash.

The coroner's office will assist in determining the cause of death.

The dead pilot was a four-year veteran of the firefighting service.

"This was his fourth season, so he was well-experienced," said Jeff Barry, Conair spokesperson.

Barry said the single-seater plane was relatively new, built in 2009.

"It's a single engine air tanker that scoops water off of lakes," he added.

Barry expressed his condolences to the friends and family of the pilot, and expressed his gratitude to ESRD and the search and rescue team for their quick response. 

Premier Designate Rachel Notley issued a statement Saturday in regards to the death of the pilot.

"I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of a pilot whose plane crashed while fighting a wildland fire near Cold Lake," the statement read.

“On behalf of the Government of Alberta and all Albertans, I offer my deepest sympathies to the family, friends and colleagues of the pilot who lost his life protecting our province from a threatening wildfire."

Investigation underway

John Lee of the Transportation Safety board said the fire could affect more than just the safety of the investigators.

"We obtain a lot of information of course in the early stages of the investigation by examining the wreckage. If the wildfire has gone through the accident site, then that makes the job a lot harder because a lot of information is lost."

Though Lee wasn't able to give a precise timeline on how the investigation will take shape, he did say that, depending on the fire, investigators will be out in the field collecting information for the next two to three days.

"We collect a bunch of information in ...  three areas, man, machine and environment, and we start to eliminate those areas that are determined non-causal, or didn't contribute to the accident," Lee said. " It's not a quick process by any means."

After the field, investigators will collect information electronically from the company, from Environment and Nav Canada, and from the military, as the aircraft would have been under military air traffic control when it crashed. The TSB will look at the pilot's experience, the upkeep of the plane and environmental factors in its investigation, and "start the process of trying to understand not just what happened, but eventually why it happened," Lee said.

--with files from Postmedia Network

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