Some northwestern Alberta residents forced to flee homes due to wildfire burning near Peace River

Some residents of an area in northwestern Alberta were issued an evacuation order on Tuesday because of the threat posed by a wildfire burning in the region.

At a news conference held in Edmonton on Wednesday to provide an update on the provincial wildfire situation, Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen spoke about that particular fire and said it grew “substantially” since Tuesday night.

“That is definitely a fire of concern right now and it’s one that is 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 District of Peace No. 135 and Birch Hills County — anyone within a five-kilometre radius surrounding Township 830 and Range Road 231 — to be prepared to leave their homes within 30 minutes.

“The situation is changing rapidly,” the AEMA said.

At 5:27 p.m., the agency issued an evacuation order for the area.

“Gather pets, important documents and medication for at least three days,” the AEMA said.

Evacuees were told to head to Grimshaw and register at a reception centre located at 5011 49 Ave.

At 6:42 p.m., the AEMA said in an update that the evacuation order had broadened 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 District of Peace No. 135.

Those evacuees were also told to head to Grimshaw.

On Tuesday evening, the AEMA said the fire posing a threat was burning southeast of Township Road 580, about one kilometre north of the river, and that it was “burning northwest.”

“Everyone else in the MD must prepare for a possible evacuation on short notice, especially those near this fire,” the agency said.

Shortly after 7 p.m., the AEMA said in another update that the fire was burning southeast of Township Road 830, about one kilometre north of the river, and that it was “burning northwest.”

The AEMA said the evacuation order now included “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 head to Grimshaw.

Stephen Lacroix, managing director of the AEMA, also spoke at Wednesday morning’s news conference and said the fire near the Peace River has seen 12 homes evacuated so far, affecting about 30 people.

Loewen said the fire near the Peace River is one that the province has “a considerable amount of manpower and equipment working on.”

Alberta Wildfire information officer Josee St. Onge told reporters the province had four crews working on the blaze on Tuesday.

“Some of them worked overnight, so they’ll get a rest today and new crews will come in to relieve them,” she said Wednesday. “We’ve also had heavy equipment operators working out there to strengthen containment lines.

“Helicopters have been deployed — they are bucketing water onto the fire. We have airtankers available as well if needed. We’ll be continuing the nighttime operations as long as it’s required.”

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.

1:08 Wildfire briefly triggers evacuation worries in Lac Ste. Anne County

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