The mayor of Yellowhead County told Global News on Monday that at least 25 homes have been destroyed by wildfire.
Wade Williams said the properties were in Shining Bank and south of Wildwood and Evansburg.
“We tried to save the farm,” said Erwin Betcher, whose extended family owns property near Shining Bank.
“We had a water truck. We tried to basically put lots of water all around but the wind picked up and we actually couldn’t do much about it. It was pretty tough.”
Erwin’s brother’s home was destroyed by fire. Gabriel Betcher was in the U.S. visiting family when the fire spread.
“They’re on the way home to start all over again.”
Erwin says they lost the shop, farm house, the new barn and the building relatives used for home schooling.
“It’s devastating,” he said.
“The community had to fight the fire. There were a lot of fires (that) started that day,” Erwin said.
“The wind got so hard … we basically had to flee because the smoke and stuff. We tried to do everything.”
The Betchers plan to rebuild what was lost and they’re not pointing fingers. In fact, Erwin says they consider themselves lucky.
“We still see a miracle because the fire was kind of heading my way too and around the back. I think what it is is a miracle for us.
“I think the wind kind of stopped it. I took a drive around the back. We cut fire all the way around the back. Then my brother’s place, it kind of looped around. It’s a miracle. We did what we could,” Erwin said.
An evacuation order remains in place for the far eastern and southern sections of Yellowhead County, including the hamlets of Evansburg and Wildwood.
There is an information session for Yellowhead County evacuees on Tuesday, May 9 at 12 p.m. at the Edson Leisure Centre.
“There is still a lot of smoke in the area. It’s too dangerous to open highways, so we have to get those fires under control,” Williams said Sunday night.
“Above that, our power, gas, water and sewer are not functioning in either one of those two hamlets, so that’s going to take us some time.”
“The evacuation of Evansburg and Wildwood will remain in effect for now,” he reiterated Monday.
“We still have a lot of issues that need to be worked out before re-entry can happen.”
For the latest Alberta Emergency Alerts and evacuation orders, click here.
While residents there will have to wait to return home, more than 8,000 people in Edson were allowed back Monday. Many have been out since Friday, when an out-of-control wildfire prompted an evacuation order for the area.
The evacuation order from Marlboro to the Chip Lake area including the town of Edson was lifted at 8 a.m. Monday and the Yellowhead Highway from Hinton to Edson reopened.
“I’m happy to be home,” Bill Lyons said. He said the last several days “haven’t been horrible but you know, it’s just nice to be home.”
For many, it marks the end of three consecutive mornings waking up in parking lots, hotel rooms, on cots in community gyms and on the hard ground in a dome of nylon tenting.
“Two nights in the tent. We finally got a hotel room,” said Lindsay Austin, surrounded by his four children and a myriad of furry friends. “It will be nice to sleep in a bed … It’s been a little nerve-wracking.”
“I want to be at home. I’m worried about what’s going on,” said 17-year-old Lakaia Austin. “There’s been no settling.”
Shuttle busses will be available to transport people from evacuation centres in both Jasper and Hinton.
Drivers are being encouraged to stagger their re-entry plans to avoid the bumper-to-bumper gridlock experienced during the evacuation.
The mayor cautioned it’s going to take time to get services up and running again including grocery stores, gas stations and the hospital, which was completely emptied of people on Friday.
“We got up early at around 6:30 and decided to go back as soon as they let us,” said gas station owner Gurman Brar. “We came back and started opening the store.”
A new reception centre has been set up in Edson.
Both mayors spent much of Sunday meeting with residents, who have a lot of questions about a lack of resources to battle the large out-of-control fires, the largest on Sunday measuring 80,000 hectares — roughly the size of New York City.
“Myself and Mayor Zahara, along with our teams, we’ve been on the phone non-stop to government officials, our MLAs, with the RMA, the EMA (emergency management agency) … to try to get some more help and to get this state of emergency declared.”
The province declared a state of emergency Saturday afternoon.
“Yeah, it was too late,” Williams said. “But on top of that, we have 103 fires burning within the province. I’m not going to stand here and start ditching people because everybody had a lot going on.”
Still, he said the county has had 13 wildfires burning in its communities, a situation that has been very hard to manage.
“Do we feel like we were left a little bit high and dry? Yes, we certainly do, and residents certainly do,” Williams said.
“You can always use more help,” Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara said. “I think provincially, if we look at the situation, we definitely need more resources within the province of Alberta.
“We need to be focused on ensuring our communities are safe,” he said.
“But we’ve never seen dry conditions like this so early in the spring.”
Entwistle, Parkland County residents allowed to return Monday evening
In neighbouring Parkland County, the evacuation order for Entwistle was lifted at 5 p.m. Monday.
An update from the county said while it is still an active wildfire, crews have now secured the blaze on the east side of the Pembina River.
The mandatory evacuation order is now lifted for Entwistle and all evacuated Parkland County residents. Highway 16 and Highway 22 will be open to Entwistle for Parkland County residents returning to their homes.
“What’s changed is the work our fire crews have done to protect the hamlet of Entwistle,” Mayor Allan Gamble said Monday.
“We did receive a good substantial amount of rain last night and with the lowering temperatures and the drop in the winds, the fire is smoldering in some areas but it’s deemed the fire is safe and in control.”
After more than a week out of their homes, residents are allowed to return Monday evening. The wildfire is considered under control at this point, Gamble said.
A 5:30 p.m. update from Parkland County said there were a number of structures lost in the fire, including three houses as well as structures associated with popular local business Pembina River Tubing.
Gamble said the hamlet is still confirming utilities and testing water, and there is no natural gas in Entwistle, so people contemplating returning should consider that.
Parkland School Division said Entwistle School would remain closed Tuesday.
Gamble was glad to see the province declare a state of emergency Saturday.
“The way the fire spread so quickly, given the difficult temperatures we had with high heat and high winds, it spread so rapidly.
“We’re very proud that the province did step in and declare a province-wide state of emergency and that is still in effect because there are other fires that require that attention and those resources.”
According to the Alberta Wildfire dashboard, there are at least 92 active wildfires in the province, 27 of which are listed as out of control.
With files from Heather Yourex-West and Sarah Ryan, Global News
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