House Mountain Airport

Economic and operational obsolescence. The airport was a government-owned strip operated by the Alberta Forest Service (now part of Alberta Wildfire). Its closure was likely due to a combination of factors: the high cost of maintaining a remote gravel airstrip for seasonal use, a strategic shift in wildfire suppression tactics towards greater reliance on helicopters (which do not require runways), and the consolidation of fixed-wing aircraft operations at larger, better-equipped regional airports.

The airport is abandoned and is being reclaimed by nature. The former 3,500-foot gravel runway is still visible in satellite imagery as a distinct clearing in the forest, but it is heavily overgrown with shrubs and young trees, rendering it completely unusable for aircraft. The site is remote provincial Crown land and serves no formal purpose.

House Mountain Airport was a crucial logistical support base for the Alberta Forest Service. Its primary function was to support forest fire detection and suppression activities in the remote and densely forested Swan Hills region. The airstrip was strategically located adjacent to the House Mountain Fire Lookout tower. Operations would have included flying in initial attack crews, transporting equipment and supplies to fire lines, and serving as a base for aerial patrol aircraft. The airport would have primarily handled STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) capable bush planes common in forestry work, such as the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver and DHC-6 Twin Otter.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening House Mountain Airport. The original operational need for the airstrip has been superseded by modern firefighting strategies and technology. The significant cost required to clear the land, regrade the runway, and maintain the facility makes its reactivation economically unfeasible for either government or private use.