(Edmonton) Hot, dry and windy conditions worsened the already extreme wildfire situation in Alberta this weekend, but progress could be made by firefighting crews.
At a press briefing on Sunday afternoon, Alberta Wildfire Information Officer Josée St-Onge said the weekend’s intense heat sparked new fires in northern province and gave oxygen to those who were already in class.
“We expected to see fire activity intensify across most of the province and that is what we saw. But thanks to the progress that firefighters have been able to make in the last few days, building fire breaks and stop lines around the fires, we are in a good position to continue defending them,” she explained.
In the south of the province, the conditions are not as extreme at the moment, but Mme St-Onge warned that resources may have to move in order to be ready to react quickly to new fires.
The number of evacuees in Alberta rose to more than 19,300 on Sunday, up from the 16,500 evacuees in the previous day’s toll. New mandatory evacuation notices have been issued in Rainbow Lake, Sturgeon Lake First Nation and Leduc County.
There were 87 active wildfires in Alberta as of Sunday afternoon, with 24 considered out of control.
Mme St-Onge said fire crews were already stationed in the forest regions of the Rockies and Calgary in the south of the province, but they could be reinforced by resources from the North, or even from outside. of the province, if new fires break out.
“We will analyze the situation in the coming days, to see where the risks are highest, and we will move our resources as appropriate to respond to any new wildfires that may break out in the south of the province,” said assured Mme St-Onge.
Until then, she urged Albertans to remain extremely vigilant, including adhering to provincial bans on starting fires and engaging in off-road vehicle activities.
When is there a respite?
More than 1,500 Albertans are currently on the ground fighting the fires. The province also said 200 additional firefighters from the United States have joined the effort in the past few hours, bringing the number of people from across the country and south of the border to more than 800.
While a return to normal is desired by many Albertans, the heat wave that will continue over the next few days will result in a still high fire risk.
“With the hot and dry conditions that we are currently seeing and which will continue for several days, we expect the situation to continue to remain difficult,” said Ms.me St-Onge.
“It’s too early to tell if we’ve plateaued in the fire season, but with warm conditions set to continue, we expect to see fire activity across the province in the coming days, maybe even weeks. »
For his part, Colin Blair, of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, asked residents of threatened areas to prepare to evacuate, in particular by equipping themselves with an evacuation kit.
“Everyone needs to know what to do, where to go and how to stay in touch when an evacuation order is given,” Blair said at Sunday’s press conference.