Achi news desk-
Some residents of an area in northwestern Alberta were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday due to the threat posed by wildfires burning in the region.
At a news conference held in Edmonton Wednesday to provide an update on the state of the province’s wildfires, Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen spoke about that particular fire and said it had grown “significantly” since Tuesday night.
“That’s definitely a concern right now and it’s one that’s getting the attention it needs.”
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., the Alberta Emergency Management Agency issued an evacuation alert, warning some residents of Municipal Peace District No. 135 and Birch Hills County – anyone within a five kilometer radius around Township 830 and Range Road 231 – to be ready to leave their homes within 30 minutes.
“The situation is changing rapidly,” said the AEMA.
At 5:27 pm, the agency issued an evacuation order for the area.
“Collect pets, important documents and medication for at least three days,” says the AEMA.
Evacuees were told to go to Grimshaw and register at a reception center at 5011 49 Ave.
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At 6:42 pm, the AEMA said in an update that the evacuation order had expanded to include everyone in the area of ​​Township Road 580, south to the Peace River, and from Highway 684, east to the Peace River , in the Municipal Area. of Peace No. 135.
Those evacuees were also told to go to Grimshaw.
On Tuesday night, the AEMA said the fire that posed a threat was burning southeast of Township Road 580, about one kilometer north of the river, and was “burning north- west.”
“Everyone else in the MD must prepare for a possible evacuation at short notice, especially those near this fire,” the agency said.
Shortly after 7 pm, the AEMA said in another update that the fire was burning south-east of Township Road 830, about one kilometer north of the river, and was “burning to the north-west.”
The AEMA said the evacuation order now includes “everyone in the area of ​​Township Road 830, south to the Peace River, and from Highway 684, east to the Peace River.”
Those evacuees were also told to go to Grimshaw.
Stephen Lacroix, the managing director of the AEMA, also spoke at the news conference on Wednesday morning and said that the fire near the Afon Heddwch has seen 12 homes evacuated so far, affecting around 30 people.
Loewen said the fire near the Peace River is one that the province “has a significant amount of manpower and equipment working on.”
Alberta Wildfire information officer Josee St. Onge, told reporters that the province had four crews working on the fire on Tuesday.
“Some of them worked overnight, so they will have a break today and new crews will come in to relieve them,” he said on Wednesday. “We’ve also had heavy equipment operators working there to strengthen containment lines.
“Helicopters have been deployed – they are bucketing water to the fire. We also have air tankers available if required. We will continue night operations for as long as necessary.”
St. Onge told reporters that the 2024 wildfire season has already seen fires burn more than three times the number of hectares of land that would normally be burned by this point in the spring.
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
