A Calgary school was evacuated on Friday due to a large fire in the area.
Four homes were damaged in a fire in Evanston, a neighbourhood in northwest Calgary.
The school borders the properties which were on fire, but was not impacted by smoke or heat, the Calgary Fire Department said.
Calgary police confirmed in a tweet at 4:12 p.m. that St. Josephine Bakhita School had been evacuated. Anyone needing access to roads to pick up family members from the school was asked to contact officers at the scene.
A CFD spokesperson told Global News that crews arrived at the scene at approximately 2:30 p.m. after several calls reported smoke in the area. Crews could see smoke well before they arrived and called a second alarm.
When they arrived, they found two separate duplexes on fire. The wind was a factor with embers blowing around and crews set up exposure teams to soak roofs and watch for embers.
In a news release issued late Friday afternoon, the CFD said very high winds increased the area under threat.
Four homes were severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable, the CFD said, displacing eight people. Another three homes sustained some damage due to heat exposure. There was no word on pets.
The fire department said it has been unable to search the two source homes because of the damage.
No injuries were reported as of late Friday afternoon.
Police blocked off streets to prevent motorists from clogging up the streets for fire crews.
Alberta Health Services personnel were at the scene assisting with the health and wellness of the residents, and utility companies Enmax and ATCO helped control the utilities to the area.
CFD investigators expected to remain at the scene looking into the cause of the fire and fire crews were to be posted overnight for safety.
The CFD is asking anyone with information, photos or video footage of the fire – especially prior to CFD’s arrival – to email the fire department’s public information officer at piofire@calgary.ca.
More to come…