Traffic on Highway 63 has reopened to traffic Tuesday afternoon, but officials warn it may close again if the wildfire situation worsens.
On Monday, high winds pushed flames from wildfires dangerously close to Highway 63, forcing officials to reroute traffic to Highway 881.
77 active wildfires are raging and firefighters have managed to contain 60 of those fires. The blazes are mainly located north of Edmonton in the Slave Lake, Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray areas.
A total of 182 firefighters from Ontario, the Northwest Territories, New Brunswick and Mexico will arrive in Alberta this week to assist provincial firefighters in their battle to put out the wildfires. Alberta is also bringing in five water-skimming air tankers from Ontario and Quebec.
Several fire bans are now in place at provincial parks and recreation areas across Alberta.
A ban has been declared for all of Strathcona County, and applies to all rural areas, hamlets and Sherwood Park.
No outdoor fires are permitted until further notice, including recreational fire pits, burning barrels and the use of charcoal barbecues and fireworks. The use of propane appliances such as barbecues is permitted.
To see the entire list of fire bans in place click here.
The province said since April 1, the beginning of wildfire season, it has responded to a total of 890 wildfires that have burned more than 27,000 hectares of forest.
