Pilot injured after helicopter crashes in northern Alberta

EDMONTON – A pilot was injured in a helicopter crash Monday in the area of Calling Lake, about 200 kilometres north of Edmonton, the second incident in a week.

A search and rescue operation was launched soon after a distress beacon was activated on the helicopter.

The rescue centre at CFB Trenton deployed aircraft to assist in the search, a spokesman said. STARS Air Ambulance were also dispatched to the scene. A spokesman for the Canadian Forces said this was not a military aircraft.

This comes three days after a pilot was killed after his helicopter crashed into the waters of Lesser Slave Lake while battling wildfires.

A witness said the helicopter was in the process of scooping water from the lake when the craft suddenly veered onto its side before disappearing behind the treeline and crashing into the lake with a massive splash.

This is the only known death linked to the wildfires this year.

Almost 300,000 hectares have been burned by wildfires since April, and of the 53 fires still burning across the province, 10 are out of control.

Meanwhile, residents of fire-ravaged Slave Lake were getting their first look Monday at what the flames left behind.

At around 8:30 a.m., buses started rolling through the community carrying displaced residents. Buses are expected to continue to tour the town Tuesday.

Residents cannot yet return to the town because emergency officials say the area remains volatile and dangerous. Utility issues and other essential services also remain a serious problem.

However, some residents have been increasingly vocal about their desire to return.

"They’re anxious to get home and we want them to get home, so we’re doing everything we can around the clock to make sure they get home," Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee said Sunday.

Pillay-Kinnee said the decision to offer bus tours came after she had a conversation with the mayor of Kelowna, a community that dealt with its own devastating wildfire in 2003. That fire destroyed 238 homes.

"We thought it was important for our residents," Pillay-Kinnee said. "It helped with the closure and the grieving. It takes a few days with the logistics, of course, to co-ordinate that, but the provincial support is tremendous. We identified it was a priority, we got on it, and we’re offering it tomorrow."

Pillay-Kinnee said evacuees were being asked to let those who lost their homes in the fires take the early buses, so they have a chance to survey the damage first. Support workers will also be on hand to help residents who have lost their homes deal with situation, she said.

Edmonton Journal