Out-of-control Nordegg wildfire grows overnight

An out-of-control wildfire near Nordegg in the western Alberta foothills grew overnight and is now 367 hectares in size.

The RWF-038 wildfire, located about 19 kilometres west of Nordegg on the north side of Highway 11, was first detected Tuesday and fire officials said it initially responded well to firefighting efforts.

Travis Fairweather, a wildfire information officer with the Alberta government, said the fire began in a fairly remote area on a hill and grew Wednesday, fueled by increased temperatures, low relative humidity and high winds.

On Thursday night, Alberta Wildfire released an update saying the blaze showed a bit of growth on the northwest corner.

On Friday, air tankers and helicopters will continue to work on the wildfire from the air while two pieces of heavy equipment will start building guard for a fire perimeter.

Lower temperatures and higher humidity values forecast should be more favorable for fighting the wildfire, the province said.

An evacuation order issued by Clearwater County Wednesday included several provincial recreation areas (Snow Creek, Dry Haven, Fish Lake, Goldeye Lake) the Centre for Outdoor Education and Frontier Lodge.

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That part of western Alberta is popular with campers and backcountry enthusiasts.

The county said evacuees with holiday trailers/campers needing a new place to overnight can relocate to the North Saskatchewan River Park in Rocky Mountain House, located at 394024 Range Road 7-3A.

2:11 Evacuation orders issued as wildfire grows in west-central Alberta

A evacuation alert is also effect for Nordegg, which is about 175 kilometres west of Red Deer. An Alberta Emergency Alert said people in the hamlet should be prepared to leave within two hours of being notified.

Tanya Koshowski co-owns the Nature’s Getaway mountain resort in Nordegg. She said things looked better Thursday compared to the night before.

“It looks really clear, there’s not really much smell of smoke and the sky doesn’t have that pink tinge in it and it looks pretty clear from where we are,” she said in the morning.

The resort is housing some people who have already evacuated from nearby areas.

“We do have lots of people staying right now, but everybody is good and safe and ready to move (if) we need to,” Koshowski said.

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The province said Thursday wildland firefighters, as well as helicopters and an airtanker, are working on RWF-038. Additional resources are en route.

Fire advisories are in effect for much of western and northern Alberta, including the area where this wildfire is burning.

A fire advisory means there are no changes to existing permits but any new permits are considered on a case-by-case basis, according to the province.

Since Jan. 1, Alberta Wildfire said there have been 656 wildfires in the province that have burned 97,395 hectares.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were 40 active fires burning in the province, including three new ones in the past 24 hours.

Of those 40 fires, four were out of control, 16 were being held, and the rest were classified as under control.

Three of those fires were caused by people, 22 were attributed to lightning, and the other 15 are still under investigation.

The cause of the RWF-038 fire in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area is not yet known.