Premier Rachel Notley says most of Alberta remains under an extreme fire risk. She says we are only at the beginning of what could be a very long fire season, and there are 15 wildfires currently underway.

"There were four new wildfire starts in the last 24 hours. Currently there are 15 wildfires burning. Three are out of control, one is being held, eight are under control, and three have been turned over to local authorities."

She says a lot of fire activity is expected for today, and asks people across the province to respect the fire bans in place.

"I'd like to remind all Albertans that we have a fire ban across much of Alberta for a reason. We have a ban on recreational use of off-highway vehicles across much of the province for a reason."

Notley says one can only hope for the Alberta tradition of a cold and wet May long weekend, and asks people to use extreme caution in the meantime. Chad Morrison with Alberta Wildfire says about 1100 firefighters are on site in Fort McMurray. He says the fire is about 284 hectares in size, and hot spots continue to be a problem.

"We expect today firefighters to be challenged again with extreme wildfire conditions over the next 2-3 days. With strong southwest winds today we do expect the northern and northeast flanks to be challenged. We continue to make very good progress on hot spots around the community, but let me be clear there are thousands of them around there still that firefighters still have to work and clean up."

Premier Notley urges people not to throw cigarette butts out of vehicle windows, and to be extremely careful with fires where they are permitted.