Higher humidity and lower temperatures have helped crews responding to a wildfire north of Edmonton, but officials say they aren’t out of the woods yet.
Sturgeon County fire Chief Chad Moore says 56 homes have been evacuated as the blaze — near the Redwater Provincial Recreation Area — continues to burn out of control.
Dozens more properties are on evacuation alert.
Gavin Hojka from Alberta Wildfire said in an update on Friday morning that, so far, the fire has burned an area about 3060 hectares in size.
“The fire was active again yesterday (Thursday) due to strong winds from the Northwest. Despite the wind, higher humidity and lower temperatures have helped lower the intensity of the fire and allowed firefighters to make progress,” said Hojka.
“Minimal rain fell on the fire in the last 24 hours and significantly more is needed to lower the fire danger in the area. Today (Friday), firefighters are working on containing the fire’s perimeter to limit its spread with the support of heavy equipment, helicopters and air tankers if needed,” added Hojka.
Officials have said the fire started over the weekend when an all-terrain vehicle caught fire after an apparent electrical or mechanical failure.
While the resources being used to fight the fire changes on a daily basis, Hojka said Alberta Wildfire currently has about 150 firefighters, dozens of pieces of heavy equipment and six helicopters working on the fire — coming from as far away as Slave Lake and southern Alberta.
“This has been an incredibly difficult situation, and we have seen incredible support from all of our community partners,” said Sturgeon County Mayor Alanna Hnatiw.
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“I just want to recognize the compassion and the resilience that we have seen in this community. This is definitely a testament to the strength and the enduring spirit of Sturgeon County.”
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