Crews holding wildfire in Kananaskis Country

A wildfire that was burning out of control Friday near Kent Ridge in KananaskisCountry is now being held by crews battling the blaze about 100 kilometres southwest of Calgary.

Alberta Wildfireofficials sayfourhelicopters and a crew of a dozenfirefighters have been able to hold the blaze at about two hectares, meaning under current conditions it's not expected to grow beyond its boundaries.

The fire wasfirst spotted around noon on Thursday in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.

Anastasia Drummond,who is the wildfire information officer for the Calgary Forest Area, said earlier Friday that the fire is locatedin a remote location. She said crews have been able to access the area only by helicopter due the difficult terrain.

"It is a challenging situation. Given the terrain and the lack of cell coverage there, it wasn't safe to leave our crews on there overnight," she said.

The fire did not grow significantly overnight, according to Drummond, but crews returned to the scene Friday morning and were able to hold the wildfire.

Although the blaze is not expected to grow outside the current outlined boundaries, Drummond said it's still a "very active wildfire situation."

Alberta Parks has closed some hiking trails in the immediate area due to safety concerns. Officials said the fire was not threatening Highway 742, the nearest road, also known as the Smith Dorrien Trail.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Dry conditions create fuel for wildfire

Drummond said the very wet June that southern Alberta saw this year helped prevent fires in the spring, but all the vegetation that grew in the early summer has now dried up and created lots of wildfirefuel.

"It has been quite dry," she said. "We are having this beautiful fall that many people are enjoying. But along with that, we have a lot of fuel that can burn quickly, very deep, right now at this time of year. That's exactly what we're seeing."

Drummondsaid it's not that unusual in southern Alberta to see wildfires in October. She said the peak season is usually in the early spring, but wildfires may become more frequentstarting around mid-August and throughout the fall.

With warmer temperatures expected, Drummond urged visitors to K-Country to be careful this weekend and check the Alberta Parks website for trail closures. She asked people to avoid the area of the wildfire as crews work to extinguish the blaze.

With files from Mike Symington and Rick Donkers