In May 2013, fire RWF-015-13 threatened infrastructure in and around the hamlet of Nordegg,
Alberta and forced the evacuation of 100 people. By the time the fire was contained, it had burned approximately 300 ha and came within 2.0 km of Nordegg. The fire started and burned through forest fuel treatments that had been designed to protect the community from advancing crown fires.

This case study examines the behaviour of that fire in relation to weather, fuels, and topography. Forest and wildfire operation professionals from the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) office in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta provided the information contained in this case study. The reader is presumed to have a basic understanding of wildfire behaviour, and the Canadian Fire Behaviour Prediction System and its associated terms.