Fires rage this past May in Slave Lake, Alta., where 7,000 people had to flee as the inferno raced into town. The forest-fire season has been starting earlier and lasting longer in recent years.
As people in Slave Lake prepare to mark the one-year anniversary of wildfires that ravaged the town, the threat of new wildfires in the region is listed as extreme.
Alberta fire officials say the forests north of Edmonton are bone-dry, trees and grass haven't greened up, humidity is low and winds are strong and gusty.
The combination of factors means the potential in the northern half of the province for wildfires ranges from high, to very-high to extreme.
In and around the Lesser Slave Lake region there are 84 firefighters, 27 support staff, six heavy equipment groups, fourteen helicopters and two air tanker groups ready to jump on any new wildfires.
Geoffrey Driscoll, a wildfire information officer, says with no lightning people are the main cause of wildfires at this time of year.
There are 41 wildfires burning in the province, including one out of control blaze about 20 kilometres from the community of Fox Creek.