A helicopter hovering high above the ground canvasses a portion of snow-covered terrain near Fox Lake, east of High Level, Alta.
On the ground, about 20 provincial firefighters, fully dressed in bunker gear, scout the area to map out wildfire hotspots and dig up ground fires.
“Our firefighters are always monitoring fires in the winter, so we’re taking flights and checking out some of our carryover fires,” said Victoria Ostendorf, a wildfire information officer for the High Level Forest area.
“But it’s not as common to see as many carryover fires as we have this winter.”
Alberta Wildfire has been responding to an increased
