05/12/2023
We know many people are anxious about a timeline for the lifting of the evacuation order. Residents should expect to be out of their homes for at least another week.
Due to the great work of the fire crews all week, both in the air and on the ground, taking advantage of the favourable firefighting weather, progress has been made on over 40 kms of dozer guard around the fire. This containment strategy is important for this almost 5000 hectare fire.
Although the fire activity may appear to have settled down, fire continues to burn inside the fire perimeter as seen on the map.
Specialized crews are actively addressing priority hot spots.
The forecast is calling for hot, dry temperatures and increased winds in the next few days and this will determine how well the fire guards in place will hold.
If you are a qualified firefighter with the appropriate certification or have equipment to offer to emergency response to this fire or other provincial emergencies, please e-mail your contact information and details to [email protected].
We want to make it clear to residents who are evacuated that we cannot consider re-entry at this time. The wildfire situation remains too volatile, and while progress is being made on restoring critical infrastructure, services are not yet in place to support our residents coming back to the community.
Once the incident is stabilized there are still a list of community lifelines including utilities, waste management, hospital, grocery stores, pharmacies, and emergency services functions to restore before people can return to the community.
Returning evacuees to our community has been a priority since this wildfire started and plans to achieve that have been ongoing. But we can not consider bringing people back until our wildfire experts have determined it is safe to do so.
The situation is continually be assessed to determine the timing of a safe re-entry.
We know this is not the news that community residents and businesses want to hear; however, re-entry must be done right in order to be successful and safe for everyone. We hear your frustration: all of the staff, crews, and volunteers responding to this emergency are working very hard to get you home as quickly as possible. We know people are anxious, tired, and want to go home. Our crews are working around the clock to make this happen.
We want to remind people that information about resources is available at the Edmonton EXPO Centre (located at 7515 118 Ave NW, Edmonton ). A provincial number has been set up for those who remain evacuated and need assistance. People can call 310-4455.
Information on the Province’s payments for evacuees can be found online at https://www.alberta.ca/emergency
