Crews busy as wildfires hit southwest Alberta

CALGARY -

Emergency crews continue to fight multiple wildfires in southwest Alberta, including one over 100 hectares in size near Rocky Mountain House.

Wildfire information officer Derrick Forsythe says the battle is getting bigger as the weather stays hot and dry.

"As of this morning, we've got four helicopters on the way, 24 firefighters and the air tankers are making an assessment as to whether they can drop water on it with all the smoke that's up there," Forsythe said.

The fire is just one burning out of control in the area. A nearby wildfire to the west is smaller, but still poses a danger, Forsythe told CTV News.

The fire near Lac Des Arc that erupted over supper hour Friday is now listed as being held.

"We were on it as quickly as we could get to it and crews have worked hard last night and early this morning," Forsythe said. "The helicopters that are on the way there are likely going to be bucketing to just cool the edges of the fire...until we get the crews up there and they can start working around it."

That fire, which at one point was sending smoke into the eastbound lanes of Hwy. 1, covered roughly 10 hectares.

No structures have been damaged in any of the three wildfires. Crews are continuing to investigate their cause.

There are currently 58 wildfires burning throughout Alberta and multiple fire bans.

Due to the wildfires, the City of Calgary was under an air quality advisory Sunday. The advisory was sitting on the low risk end of the scale, but could move up to a moderate risk level, depending on winds and the fires.

For information about which areas are impacted, visit Alberta Wildfire's website.