Firefighters who fought against a fire in a remote community in northern Alberta were temporarily trapped on Thursday when forest fires closed in communities from all over the province, which forced thousands to flee.
The fires in the center and the north of Alberta grew more and more volatile on Thursday, forcing a new wave of evacuated to flee as the heat to bake, the severe storms and the winds of blows were fueled the flames. Air quality alerts have been issued in most Alberta as smoke blankets the province.
Eight firefighters had to take refuge in their place and wait to be rescued when the flames moved to Lake Chipewyan, about 450 kilometers north of Edmonton.
The total scope of the damage to Lake Chipewyan is unknown, but the authorities said Friday that the community water treatment plant has been destroyed.
Refuge from the flames
According to Forestal Minister and Alberta Parks, Todd Loewen, the Firefighters responded to a fire when they temporarily lost radio contact just after 8 pm
Firefighters had to cover themselves in the community during the night, since the efforts to extract them using night vision technology were hindered by heavy smoke. A team was held in a fire station, the other in a local school.
The emergency officials of the local municipality say that firefighters are now safe.
According to a statement from the emergency management team for the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 issued on Friday, the Firefighters finally made their way, heading to the village of Wabasca, about 140 kilometers south.
“However, the airplanes could not land due to the smoked conditions, it was determined that the road was sure so that the fire crews would leave Lake Chipewyan,” authorities said.
Loewen told CBC News on Friday that the smoke prohibited the use of Alberta Wildfire night vision helicopters, which still need a certain level of visibility.
A 20 -men forest equipment was sent to help crews to navigate the path that had been blocked by fallen trees, authorities said.
The crew that was waiting for a rescue was composed of four firefighters with the municipal district and four Wildland provincial firefighters. Municipal officials said they were notified of the rescue efforts in progress around 9 pm on Thursday after the fire moved to the community.
Officials with Alberta Wildfire, the Forest Fire Fighting Agency in the province, have refused to comment on the rescue.
The authorities said they will examine the damage in detail as soon as it is sure to do so.
It is still May, and the forest fire season in Las Praderas already has a dangerous and fast start. The meteorologist Johanna Wagstafffe explains how extreme heat and racing winds are creating a perfect storm for fire growth, without rain in sight.
Alberta Wildfire will review the incident to see if something could have done better, Loewen said.
“Security is the number 1 concern for our people; make sure they are sure, making sure we have that open communication channel at all times,” he said. “That is what was alarming, we lost communication for a short period of time.”
Chipewyan Lake, which can only be accessed by a single access road to the industry, was evacuated on Thursday.
The community, home of around 75 people, was evacuated in May 2019 and May 2023.
Two out -of -control forest fires are moving to the community.
One approaches from the southwest, and until Thursday afternoon, had burned more than 20,000 hectares. The other comes from the north to more than 3,000 hectares.
A fire band is burning in the remote region of Northern Alberta, forcing more than 300 people living in Red Earth Creek, as well as 1,300 residents of Loon Lake, the Lake without looks and the Trout Lake.
More than 50 forest fires are burning in the province on Friday morning, with almost 30 burned out of control. A hot and dry spell has struggled efforts to contain them. Firefighters have fought against increasingly extreme and unpredictable fire behavior in recent days.
New evacuation orders
In a matter of hours on Thursday night, a series of new communities were forced.
Yellowhead County issued an evacuation order to people living around the village of their peers, about 165 kilometers west of Edmonton. Until Thursday afternoon, a forest fire was burning one kilometer south of the community.
Some Westlock County residents have also been told to flee due to a fire in the Hubert Lake Wildland Provincial Park, which covered 900 hectares.
Dene Tha ‘First Nation issued an evacuation order for Chateh residents, a community about 660 kilometers northwest of Edmonton.
Until Friday, a fire out of control southwest of the community had grown to 10,000 hectares, multiplying in size from 1,730 hectares the previous day.
Familiar with fire
After years of the destructive seasons of forest fires of Alberta, it is not the first time that many of the evacuees have been forced from their homes.
The 1,300 residents of Swan Hills, northwest of Edmonton, were ordered earlier this week to evacuate due to a forest fire that has consumed more than 7,800 hectares and drawn eight kilometers from the community. It was evacuated due to forest fires in 2023.
Dene ‘Tha First Nation, in the northwest corner of Alberta, issued an evacuation order on Thursday night for the Chateh community.
The community experienced a devastating flood in 2022 and was threatened by forest fires in 2023 and 2024.
Chief Wilfred Hooka-Nooza said that a fire that burned about 10 kilometers from Chateh forced more than 900 residents to evacuate on the rear roads.
The fire had blocked highway 58, the main high -level road, which forced the evacuees to make a round trip 230 kilometers on the gravel roads to a safety control point in Buse River.
Even before the evacuation order arrived, people were worried about the fire that was approaching, said Hooka-Nooza.
“The wind blew towards the community,” he said Thursday.
“Some people called, worried, remembering the events they had to spend last year.
“Therefore, they must be in panic mode. But the main thing is that our group is helping them out of the community, where they will be safe.”
