EDMONTON – A wildfire south of the community of Lodgepole has jumped the Pembina River and is moving south east towards Highway 620.
The fire is now about 1,400 hectares in size and is considered out of control. It’s burning less than two kilometres west of Lodgepole. The community is about 130 kilometres south west of Edmonton.
Firefighters were dealing with difficult conditions Sunday as winds reached 70 to 80 kilometres an hour.
“It caused that initial fire to start within a very short period of time. It went from zero to 45 hectares in half an hour and just progressed from that point,” says Public Information Outreach officer, Rita Stagman.
As of Monday morning, no structural damage had been reported.
A one hour evacuation notice has been delivered to residents in the area. Brazeau County is calling it a precautionary measure, but – as of 10:30 a.m. Monday – says it will be at least another 48 hours before the evacuation order will be lifted. Residents and industry are still prohibited to return to the area.
Residents are being asked to register at the Mackenzie Conference Centre in Drayton Valley.
The reception centre, located at the MacKenzie Centre, remains open. For those residents who have not registered or would like to provide a status updates or simply to ask a question please call the Centre directly at 780-202-8677.
An employee in the Brazeau County office said most of the people in Lodgepole left the community earlier Sunday.
53 people stayed in the Omniplex in Drayton Valley Sunday night.
Provincial Wildfire Information Officer Richard Horne said 50 firefighters, eight helicopters, and a number of heavy equipment and air tankers are fighting the blaze.
NORDEGG FIRE UPDATE
Nordegg residents were also forced to leave their homes Sunday.
170 people were forced to evacuate the hamlet, which is about 300 kilometres south west of Edmonton.
The blaze is more than 300 hectares in size, and remains about two kilometres away from Nordegg.
RCMP have barricaded the roads into Nordegg and have been driving around the community to make sure the abandoned homes are safe.
Clearwater County says there will be no access into to the hamlet or the north subdivision.
About 60 residents registered at the curling rink in Rocky Mountain House Sunday, but no one spent the night. Evacuees are being asked to register at the rink or online, at www.clearwatercounty.ca.
For up to date evacuation notices and wildfire conditions, visit Alberta Emergency Alert’s website.
The Nordegg Fire Info Line is 1-866-916-INFO (4636). For all other fire related inquiries, please call 1-866-FYI-FIRE.
For more on the wildfire situation in our province, watch Gord Steinke’s interview with Geoffrey Driscoll, a Wildfire Information Officer with Alberta Environment:
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