Check DriveBC and Alberta 511 before any fire-season trip
Provincial highways routinely close on short notice during wildfire season for active fire, smoke, evacuation traffic, or fire-suppression...
Provincial highways routinely close on short notice during wildfire season for active fire, smoke, evacuation traffic, or fire-suppression operations. Before any drive in fire-affected regions of BC, check DriveBC.ca for current and planned closures, detours and condition reports. In Alberta, use the 511 Alberta service. In the US, most western states run their own 511 traveler-information service or state department of transportation site. These update in near-real time and cover both major highways and many secondary roads. Major routes through fire country — Highway 1, 5, 97 and 4 in BC, Highway 63, 43 and 11 in Alberta, and interstate and state highways through the western US — are routinely affected during interior fire seasons. If your route passes through a fire area, identify at least one alternate before you leave — with the corridors that are typical evacuation routes for residents, expect heavy oncoming traffic and limited fuel availability. Non-essential travel into fire-affected regions is discouraged because it adds congestion to evacuation routes. If you must travel, take extra fuel, water, food and medication, expect long delays, and listen to AM/FM radio for updates when cell service drops.
Major highways close with limited notice during fire season — services like DriveBC, 511 Alberta and state 511 sites update closures in near-real time, but cell signal in smoke-affected corridors is often poor.
Source: BC Wildfire Service
Last reviewed 2026-05-02.
See live fires, evacuation alerts, air quality, and road closures for Western Canada and 18 western US states on our free live map, then run through the preparedness checklists before fire season.
This is the same wildfire safety library that lives inside our free app. Browse it all in the safety library.