Residents in the area of Peerless Trout First Nation were told to “evacuate immediately” on Monday afternoon as a wildfire grew closer to their homes and communities.
An Alberta Emergency Alert issued at 5:16 p.m. said that everyone in the Trout Lake area and anyone considered “high risk” in Peerless Trout had to leave immediately.
Anyone in need of transportation was being directed to the Trout Lake Community Hall for assistance.
“The remaining areas of Peerless Trout First Nation must be prepared to evacuate on short notice,” the alert said.
People evacuating were being told to register at the Black Lakes Arena in Red Earth Creek or the Bridge at Narrow’s and then get more instructions.
A reception centre was set up at the Super 8 hotel in west Edmonton, and rooms at two other hotels were also being made available.
As of Tuesday morning, more than 360 people had registered in Red Earth Creek and 215 people had arrived at the hotels in Edmonton, according to band manager & director of emergency services Jason Wigton. He said more people were expected to make their way to Edmonton on Tuesday.
Wigton said residents would be out of their homes for several days until fire crews got the northern edge of the wildfire under control.
This is the second time the community has been forced to evacuate. People in the remote northern Alberta area were also ordered out a few weeks ago due to wildfires.
According to fire information officer Travis Fairweather, the communities are being threatened by the McMillan Complex Fire which is burning in the Slave Lake forest area.
The blaze was an estimated 265,000 hectares in size as of 5:30 p.m. on Monday. An evacuation alert was issued for the Peerless Trout region on Monday morning, but Fairweather said wind direction and increased fire behaviour prompted the mandatory order.