A local emergency has been declared in Brazeau County. Thousands of people have been evacuated from Drayton Valley and Brazeau County in west-central Alberta due to an out-of-control wildfire.
The Town of Drayton Valley sent a warning to its 7,200 Facebook followers late on Thursday, advising them to bring essential documents, medications, food, water, and supplies for at least three days. “Bring your pets along.”
At the Edmonton Expo area, the City of Edmonton has established a reception area for evacuees. The location of registration for evacuees is Hall C.
At 10:30 MT, the province will give an update on the wildfire situation in Alberta. You can see it live right here.
All residents in the vicinity of Township Road 484 north to Township Road 494, and North Saskatchewan River west to Range Road 80 must leave right away, according to an Alberta emergency alert issued for Brazeau County and Drayton Valley at 3:50 a.m. MT on Friday.
The evacuation route was directed to take Highway 624 north from Highway 22. To get to Tomahawk, take 624. In the direction of Stony Plain, take 624 east.
Shortly after the alarm was sent out, Fay Barnett and her stepson left their home in the Poplar Ridge Mobile Home Park in Drayton Valley.
She stated in an interview on Friday morning, “Hopefully we’ll have houses to go to when we get back.”
She hoped that the family could get back home by Sunday.
People were instructed to leave the region in a previous emergency advisory southwest of Brazeau Dam and west of the Brazeau River. Elk River Road to the north, Brazeau Reservoir to the east, just past Brazeau River to the south, and Range Road 145 form the perimeter of the evacuation zone.
Brazeau County Reeve Bart Guyon has been working with the local fire chief to make sure county residents have access to the most recent information and can leave the area quickly.
Guyon compared it to waking up in the middle of a nightmare.
“We have many professionals who put their hearts and souls into what they do, even though I’m not on the front lines. And everyone is banding together to attempt to assist.
“Strategic evacuations are being carried out. Everyone in the vicinity must leave because the wildfire is primarily affecting the oil and gas business, according to the emergency advisory.
The recent developments in a week that has seen a number of wildfires in central and northern Alberta are the evacuations in Brazeau County and Drayton Valley.
In hot, dry, and windy weather, many are burning out of control.
Thousands of people were evicted from their homes on Thursday due to a sizable out-of-control wildfire in the Fox Lake region of northern Alberta. Fox Lake’s wildfire has reportedly burned through about 4,400 hectares as of Thursday afternoon, according to an update from Alberta Wildfire.
Conroy Sewepagaham, chief of the Little Red River Cree Nation, said in a video broadcast to Facebook on Thursday that roughly 3,700 people had left the area.
Sewepagaham stated in a later video that the fire had “grown significantly and is still moving westward.”
As far as he is aware, every inhabitant of the village has been evacuated, but “unfortunately we are losing homes left and right and centre,” Sewepagaham said in a video update shortly after 8 p.m.
According to an Alberta Wildfire report at 6 p.m., fires had destroyed 20 homes in the neighbourhood, the RCMP station, and the Northern Store.
There will be about 34 Alberta blaze firefighters, four helicopters, two heavy helicopters, heavy equipment, and air tankers battling the blaze on Friday, according to a Facebook update from the Little Red River Cree Nation.
Fox Lake, Garden River, and John D’Or Prairie are the three Woodland Cree settlements that make up Little Red River Cree Nation. The bulk of people reside at Fox Lake, which is located around 600 km north of Edmonton and to the east of High Level.
According to a news release from the community of High Level, they are getting ready to house around 1,800 evacuees.
“The Town of High Level and its residents are proud to continue to support our neighbours during their time of need,” said Mayor Crystal McAteer. “We are a primary destination for Albertans across Northwest Alberta.”
“Unfortunately, during the past few years, these kinds of emergency situations have become more frequent. We understand how difficult it can be for people who have to flee their homes in order to find safety.
“We always work to make evacuees as comfortable as possible and hope to be their safe haven.”
There are 76 active wildfires across the province, according to Alberta Wildfire.
Additional evacuations
As a result of wildfires burning over central Alberta, hundreds of Albertans are under a mandatory evacuation order.
Residents of Leduc County, south of Edmonton, close to the community of Warburg, were warned about wildfires.
Range Road 41 east to Range Road 35 and Township Road 494 north to Township Road 495 are both subject to the evacuation order. The damaged area is located roughly 6.5 km north and 8 km west of Warburg.
West of Edmonton, a town called Wildwood received an emergency alert on Thursday afternoon, but the evacuation area was expanded on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m.
The impacted region extends from the Pembina River west to Range Road 101, with Township Road 550 as its northern and Township Road 520 as its southern borders.
The towns of Evansburg, Wildwood, Lobstick, and Hansonville are included in the zone. The Edson Leisure Centre has a welcome area built up. Both Tipple Park Museum and the Wildwood Community Hall have bus service to Edson.
Parkland County issued an evacuation order for adjacent Entwistle on Thursday night. All Entwistle residents who live in the region north of Township Road 530 to Highway 16 and west of Range Road 65 to the Pembina River are impacted by the order.
The Wabamun Jubilee Hall, located at 5132 53rd Ave. in Wabamun, is being used as a receiving centre and locals are being instructed to leave the area immediately.
By deploying two fully staffed fire engines, a district chief, and a mechanic to Entwistle “to provide structure protection in the town,” Edmonton Fire Rescue Services is assisting Parkland County, the City of Edmonton stated in a news release.
West of the Brazeau River, southwest of Brazeau Dam, a wildfire is also causing an evacuation. Elk River Road to the north, Brazeau Reservoir to the east, Rage Road 145 to the south, and just past Brazeau River to the west are the boundaries of the evacuation zone.
On Thursday, the Lac Ste. Anne County ordered everyone to leave the area between Range Roads 60 and 64, from Township Road 554 to Highway 43.
According to the county, there is a wildfire close to Township Road 560 and Range Road 60. The Sangudo Arena in Sangudo has a reception room open.
A mandatory evacuation order for residents of Cold Lake First Nation south of Township Road 614 and north of Range Road 24 was issued at 6:22 p.m. on Thursday. According to the notice, the fire is headed west towards Range Road 24. Already, one house has been destroyed.
