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-   -   Forest closures being announced (http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=328620)

Puma 09-03-2017 09:34 PM

Forest closures being announced
 
Closures are being announced in some Alberta areas due to the extreme fire hazard risks.

More areas are to be announced tomorrow.

Here is a web site to keep an eye on.

http://www.albertaparks.ca/knowb4ugo/

glen1971 09-03-2017 09:41 PM

From their FB page...

The safety of Alberta Parks' visitors is our top priority.
With wildfires threatening parks and campgrounds in the province, there are several current and impending closures people need to be aware of.
- In southern Alberta, a full forest closure is expected to be in place by 10 a.m. on Monday, September 4. This closure will include all areas south of Willow Creek.
- The South Castle Valley in Castle Wildland Provincial Park is now closed.
- A full closure of Castle Wildland Provincial Park is expected to take place by the afternoon of Monday, September 4.
- A wildfire north of Crescent Falls Provincial Recreation Area has led to its closure and the evacuation of the campground.
- The threat of wildfires has also closed several trails in Castle Provincial Park, Thompson Creek Provincial Recreation Area and Kootenay Provincial Recreation Area. Visit our website for details: http://www.albertaparks.ca/…/advisor...-…/advisories/
Wildfire conditions in these areas are well past the extreme level. In these conditions, wildfires can move very fast, and embers can create new fires several kilometres away. Forecasts indicate a new fire can reach up to 45 hectares in size in under an hour.
Please stay safe, and visit AlbertaParks.ca for the latest details on closures.

Also for Waterton Park:
Fire Information Update: September 3, 2017, 18:30.
The Kenow Mountain fire, immediately to the west of Waterton Lakes National Park, in southeast British Columbia, is now on the park boundary at Sage Pass and South Kootenay Pass. Parks Canada is actively managing the fire with resources on the ground, area closures and more resources arriving.
There is no evacuation alert at this time. Updates will be provided as the situation warrants. More information:http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/scond/Cond_...7&oPark=100429

waterninja 09-03-2017 09:50 PM

Well it only makes sense to put these clousures in force for safety reasons, but it is tough on a lot of hunters who have waited 12 years or more to finally get a tag and not be able to use it.
Next week looks hot, but the week after should bring some relief to hunters, farmers, ranchers and all other outdoorsmen.

kujoseto 09-03-2017 11:08 PM

Not surprising. Sitting in Invermere right now and I can't believe how hot and dry it is here. All campgrounds have closed and all backcountry activity is banned. I think even driving the back roads is off limits

bessiedog 09-03-2017 11:31 PM

Whelp.....
 
Guess it was a good thing the boy and I grabbed some grouse outta there before she got sit down.

bearbuster 09-04-2017 06:05 AM

Closing an area due to wildfire danger makes perfect sense.
What does bother me however, I see this as things to come in the entire province. As more and more areas get labeled and designated parks, wildland areas etc. it becomes easier, and im sure will be more frequent, the govt will increase restrictions and closures to the public for various reasons. Look at the list in the above link, Areas closed due to bears and berries?? Bear in area this time, dry conditions next time, to much rain so trails are vulnerable. Whats to come? Closed to not disrupt Ungulate breeding in certain areas? A not so suttle way to weed out what some see as undesirable use of the public land. I dont where a tin hat, but unfortunately this is not a conspiracy theory, but very realistic scenerio

H380 09-04-2017 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bearbuster (Post 3616185)
Closing an area due to wildfire danger makes perfect sense.
What does bother me however, I see this as things to come in the entire province. As more and more areas get labeled and designated parks, wildland areas etc. it becomes easier, and im sure will be more frequent, the govt will increase restrictions and closures to the public for various reasons. Look at the list in the above link, Areas closed due to bears and berries?? Bear in area this time, dry conditions next time, to much rain so trails are vulnerable. Whats to come? Closed to not disrupt Ungulate breeding in certain areas? A not so suttle way to weed out what some see as undesirable use of the public land. I dont where a tin hat, but unfortunately this is not a conspiracy theory, but very realistic scenerio

Said this was gonna happen weeks ago..Guys don't realize what a risk there is

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

glen1971 09-04-2017 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bearbuster (Post 3616185)
Closing an area due to wildfire danger makes perfect sense.
What does bother me however, I see this as things to come in the entire province. As more and more areas get labeled and designated parks, wildland areas etc. it becomes easier, and im sure will be more frequent, the govt will increase restrictions and closures to the public for various reasons. Look at the list in the above link, Areas closed due to bears and berries?? Bear in area this time, dry conditions next time, to much rain so trails are vulnerable. Whats to come? Closed to not disrupt Ungulate breeding in certain areas? A not so suttle way to weed out what some see as undesirable use of the public land. I dont where a tin hat, but unfortunately this is not a conspiracy theory, but very realistic scenerio

I don't think it is making it easier to close areas.. The Castle is super dry and no one in this area could understand why it stayed open as long as it has. My wife and I were talking and I said I bet after the Sept long crowds are gone it will be closed, but it should have been a week ago. All it's gonna take is one spark from one careless camper, hunter, etc and it will be a devastating loss to the area.

Have you been to Waterton Park this year? They have had to close the access to the Park as there were that many people trying to get in. The park simply couldn't handle it. With that many coming in, how many do you think are bear smart? They aren't! There was lots of people trying to approach bears and get their photos.. Closure of trails for bears is pretty common in most federal parks..

Lots of areas in this province close for elk and sheep breeding and they aren't a park. Lots of activity has to cease or has extra restrictions in these areas. If you want to see lots of restrictions, try and replace a culvert on a creek! I think there is a 3 week window each year on the one they did at work this year due to fish breeding and habitats...

Newview01 09-04-2017 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glen1971 (Post 3616189)

Lots of areas in this province close for elk and sheep breeding and they aren't a park.

Just curious as I have never heard of an area closed for elk breeding. Where have you seen this?

Full Curl Earl 09-04-2017 06:41 AM

Agree
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by bearbuster (Post 3616185)
Closing an area due to wildfire danger makes perfect sense.
What does bother me however, I see this as things to come in the entire province. As more and more areas get labeled and designated parks, wildland areas etc. it becomes easier, and im sure will be more frequent, the govt will increase restrictions and closures to the public for various reasons. Look at the list in the above link, Areas closed due to bears and berries?? Bear in area this time, dry conditions next time, to much rain so trails are vulnerable. Whats to come? Closed to not disrupt Ungulate breeding in certain areas? A not so suttle way to weed out what some see as undesirable use of the public land. I dont where a tin hat, but unfortunately this is not a conspiracy theory, but very realistic scenerio

I agree Bearbuster. We will see more of this, and fire risks have been this high before and I've not seen this level of closure. And they can only do it in parks, not public land. Last thing we need is a fire to be started by a hunter. The pitch forks would be out for sure.

Ruger99 09-04-2017 07:03 AM

Is 404 effected be would that be castle ?

muirsy 09-04-2017 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruger99 (Post 3616194)
Is 404 effected be would that be castle ?

I'm hoping not. A buddy and I are heading out there on Saturday for at least a 4-5 day elk hunt. Would suck to have to come up with a plan B.

glen1971 09-04-2017 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newview01 (Post 3616190)
Just curious as I have never heard of an area closed for elk breeding. Where have you seen this?

Reduced activity allowed that I know of:
Highway 63 being twinned south of Fort Mac.
Grazing leases west of Pincher

Ruger99 09-04-2017 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muirsy (Post 3616195)
I'm hoping not. A buddy and I are heading out there on Saturday for at least a 4-5 day elk hunt. Would suck to have to come up with a plan B.

Ya I was headed out gets tomorrow till the 10th if anyone hears of that area please let me know

LongBomber 09-04-2017 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muirsy (Post 3616195)
I'm hoping not. A buddy and I are heading out there on Saturday for at least a 4-5 day elk hunt. Would suck to have to come up with a plan B.

A full bush closure in the southern rockies is expected. Not just the parks, if that happens 404 will be affected. Which sucks as a friend has a moose draw for 404...

Pathfinder76 09-04-2017 07:39 AM

Does foot traffic cause fires?

Grizzly Adams 09-04-2017 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuck (Post 3616209)
Does foot traffic cause fires?

If you're a smoker. :lol: closure wouldn't be a surprise, kind of expecting it after last week's trip. Maybe they want the long week enders to have a last fling ?


Grizz

Pathfinder76 09-04-2017 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams (Post 3616219)
If you're a smoker. :lol: closure wouldn't be a surprise, kind of expecting it after last week's trip. Maybe they want the long week enders to have a last fling ?


Grizz

I'm not a smoker.

JohninAB 09-04-2017 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuck (Post 3616209)
Does foot traffic cause fires?

No but humans do.

JohninAB 09-04-2017 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newview01 (Post 3616190)
Just curious as I have never heard of an area closed for elk breeding. Where have you seen this?

Numerous areas within the province subject to seasonal wildlife restrictions.

Pathfinder76 09-04-2017 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohninAB (Post 3616230)
No but humans do.

Then those humans can stay away. There are humans that drive drunk. I don't drink. Should they suspend my licence anyway?

Norwest Alta 09-04-2017 08:43 AM

One of the rare times I'll keep my inside voice inside chuck.

Pathfinder76 09-04-2017 08:49 AM

Who here can build a fire with a rock? I'll bet if we took 100 guys. Told them to build a fire with what they can find laying on the ground 99 of them couldn't. Let's be honest. The government does this to feel better about themselves. And just for the record, I can see this closed area from my front door and I'm east of it.

Pathfinder76 09-04-2017 08:54 AM

And the biggest threat to my home because of fire is not hunters.

waterninja 09-04-2017 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuck (Post 3616209)
Does foot traffic cause fires?

It's not just the fact that you might cause a fire. They don't want to waste resources on evacuating or sending in search teams to rescue stranded hikers in case of a fire.

Pathfinder76 09-04-2017 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterninja (Post 3616259)
It's not just the fact that you might cause a fire. They don't want to waste resources on evacuating or sending in search teams to rescue stranded hikers in case of a fire.

They are targeting hunters. Period.

bessiedog 09-04-2017 09:19 AM

Yup
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by waterninja (Post 3616259)
It's not just the fact that you might cause a fire. They don't want to waste resources on evacuating or sending in search teams to rescue stranded hikers in case of a fire.

Guide friend of mine had copters and planes searching for him to take him out. He came back to his sheep camp to find a helicopter waiting for him. This was last week.

Nice service to have.... but it's gotta be expensive.

Chuck, I'm not happy about the closure too as we just walk in.... but it's gotta happen.

My kid was having a blast working the dog for roughies.

I also have a 308 BLR I gotta still sight in.... I'm betting the Crowsnest gun range is shut down too. No way am I payin $160 for the OMR range. Maybe they allow guests.....


Anyone know a good rain dance.

JD848 09-04-2017 09:43 AM

Risk to human life is one reason,not all hunters or campers care about what happens if you get trapped in a forest fire ,it's not what one responsible person think's,it's about the ones who don't think about endangering others,and some don't like hunters or care about the forest we have tags for,all forest fire crews are out in full force helping other places in Canada.

If you can't hunt for a week or 2 so be it,no one is starving or going to die from trama cause they don't get out right away,if you need to spend time in the bush go help the fire crews if your a top notch bushmen,give instead of taking,there's plenty of time to take,one fire can kill thousands of animals so protect what is yours by staying away, a hunter never burnt fort mac a wildfire did and it can happen back to back,or your home next time.

If you can predict all human behavior and how they think then your the smartest person on earth,so the ones who put up these fire ratings only know how dry it is and do trust most folks but there's always that chance one may make a mistake with very little know how on what's right and wrong and light up that cig,knocks over his propane cooker etc.

JD848 09-04-2017 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuck (Post 3616263)
They are targeting hunters. Period.

Your right out of some comic book ,and I can bet my last buck you never helped in fire fighting in your life by the way you talk,resorts for fishing get shut down,logging companies with millions in overhead payments are chased out and some loss everthing,mining,pipelines construction is haulted and they target just hunters .

Just so happens in years before it was the spring so hunters could care less,now were getting hotter summers in long periods and the forest 's are in very bad shape due to being extremely dry,like I said forget about taking if you have the time,pack your pack sack and go help other men that are fighting to save your wildlife ,I did it many times and shut my company down for months losing my income and still paying my creditors and never said a word about it,you take and you give to save what is possible and enjoy,so just don't take and sit at home crying about like a 3 grader.

MountainTi 09-04-2017 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuck (Post 3616263)
They are targeting hunters. Period.

They weren't targeting hunters last time they shut it down out there (I was working down there for Shell at the time, we got the boot), and they aren't this time


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