NWT - A fire was raging over 8,000 hectares in Wood Buffalo National Park as of Friday.

A human-caused forest fire started early last week in Wood Buffalo National Park. The fire, pictured here on Tuesday, shows the fire coming from the north entering into the Athabasca Delta in northern Alberta. - photo courtesy of Jean Morin

Jean Morin, head of the park fire management team of Wood Buffalo National Park, says it's the worst time of year for a forest fire.

Coming a month before the fire season usually begins, combating the fire has proven problematic. Water levels in lakes in the region remain low and under a layer of ice, and firefighters have yet to finish training, said Morin.

"This time of year, it's really hard to get firefighters. They are not officially trained and certified for the season. That, in combination with not having any water this time of year, makes firefighting very challenging. We're very limited in our resources to fight fires," said Morin.

"It's important to let people know that this time of the year, grass fires will start and they're very tricky to control. The flames and fire, it does spread."

The park is currently under surveillance to monitor the fire which started late last Saturday in the Athabasca Delta area of the park in northern Alberta. The fire started about 40 km east of Fort Chipewyan and is the first fire of the season for the park.

As of Friday, Morin said the fire seems to be contained due to natural barriers such as lakes, creeks and rivers.

"The growth is very minimized and we're still keeping an eye on it, we're monitoring the fire with planes," said Morin. "It's dry when you get into Alberta, any grassy areas exposed are very volatile. There's no moisture because everything's still frozen. If there's an ignition – man-caused – usually at this time of the year we get strong winds and the fire will grow fairly quickly at high rates and spread."

He said the fire was human-caused, either from an unattended campfire or a cigarette, although he said the initial source is not known.

Morin said planes from Alberta and a helicopter from Yellowknife were assessing the growth of the fire throughout last week.

He said the fire does not pose a threat to people or property. He said there are several cabins near the area, but assured the fire is contained by the natural barriers.

He said this time of year fires don't spread deep in the ground since it is still frozen.

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