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Parks Canada said a wildfire at Moose Meadows in Banff National Park is now classified as “being held.”
The fire, most recently estimated to be about two hectares in size, broke out Saturday afternoon, just west of the town of Banff.
Smoke from the out-of-control fire, which was burning just north of the Bow River, could be seen from both the Trans Canada Highway (Highway 1) and the Bow Valley Parkway (Highway 1A).
While Parks Canada insisted the fire wasn’t a threat to the communities of Banff or Lake Louise, it warned that smoke and flames may be visible from both Highway 1 and Highway 1A.
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A temporary no-stopping zone was put in place for an approximately two-kilometre stretch of Highway 1 to give fire crews room to work. Motorists were advised to use caution when travelling in the area.
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Two Parks Canada fire crews were called in to help fight the fire from the ground while three helicopters attacked the fire from the air with buckets of water scooped up from the nearby river.
The fire broke out in an area known as Moose Meadows, about 10 kilometres west of the town of Banff.
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An update from Parks Canada on Sunday morning said crews have secured the perimeter of the fire with the help of cool temperatures overnight.
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The fire is now classified as “being held,” and firefighters will be working to completely extinguish it “in the coming days.”
A photo provided by Parks Canada on Sunday, shows the area of Moose Meadows, where the fire broke out Saturday afternoon.
Parks Canada
Parks Canada insists the fire poses “no risk to the communities of Banff or Lake Louise because it was burning in an area that had burned previously and been mechanically thinned.”
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So far the cause of the fire is unknown, but Parks Canada said it was not the result of a prescribed burn and there are no such operations currently taking place in Banff National Park.
There has been much greater concern about the possibility of a fire in Banff National Park after a devastating fire in the summer of 2024 destroyed about a third of the town of Jasper in nearby Jasper National Park.
Parks Canada
Concern over the possibility of a devastating wildfire in the Bow Valley has grown after a wildfire last summer destroyed about a third of the town of Jasper, located just over three hours north of Banff, in Jasper National Park.
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