At 8 a.m. Wednesday, the evacuation order was lifted for sections of Yellowhead County, Alta., meaning some people who’ve been out of their homes for close to 10 days were allowed home.
The evacuation order was lifted on May 10 for the Hamlet of Evansburg and the rural areas east, north and south of Wildwood.
“The wildfire risk has been reduced thanks to firefighting efforts and the shift in weather,” the county said in a post on Facebook.
On Thursday, May 11 at 8 a.m., the evacuation order was lifted for the Hamlet of Wildwood, Lobstick Resort, Hansonville, and Highway 16A, as well as areas south of Highway 16 from Range Road 81 to Reno Road, as well as Highway 16A to Range Road 75.
“As we continue to deal with the wildfire situation in Yellowhead County, we want to thank the firefighters and emergency crews that have been working long and hard throughout this difficult time,” the county wrote on its official Facebook page. “Many of these boots-on-the-ground emergency responders have dealt with their own evacuations and being away from their homes and families while they work to contain these wildfires.
“We also would like to acknowledge and thank the many residents who have continued to protect their communities and homes, as well as all of the firefighters who have come in from many communities across Alberta and Canada and from Alberta Wildfire.
“We are all in this together and we thank you for all you’ve done.”
Some residents returned to the Lobstick Resort area Thursday only to find their homes were gone.
“We just got back today,” said Conrad Skaalrud. “It has just been dwelling in your mind… this is a little overwhelming. Trying to keep my composure.”
Skaalrud and his wife Heather had just built their dream home in Lobstick Resort. They had lived in it for just two days when the wildfire forced them out. On Saturday, their home burned to the ground.
“This was the next phase of my life, to carry out the dream that you’ve worked for for so long. It was paradise,” Skaalrud said.
“We’re going to carry on with this dream and get it back to the community. Hopefully it’s bigger and better or just as good.”
Sandi Mcnoughton found a friend’s home that had burned while hers, just a few kilometres away, was still standing.
“I’m thankful that it was still here,” she said.
“I have to phone her. She’s a friend of mine. I am just devastated that she’s lost her home. I will help her out as much as I can… It’s sad. I want to cry.”
Global News observed at least five properties in the Lobstick Resort area that were destroyed by wildfire.
“Fire is so unpredictable. You never know,” Mcnoughton said.
“The firefighters had trucks at the end of each street and they had their sprinklers going so they were soaking down the edges of town where the fire could have entered.
“I’m so thankful for that. Wildwood could have burnt up easily.”
Evacuees and residents can contact 1-833-334-4630 for more assistance or visit the reception centre at the Edson and District Leisure Centre.
Officials stressed that there are still wildfires in the area and people returning must remain alert and prepared for any potential changes.
Alberta Wildfire data shows several fires burning in and around the Yellowhead County region.
Three wildfires make up the Deep Creek Complex fire, which is burning a total of about 17,500 hectares near Evansburg, Entwistle, Wildwood, Hansonville and Shining Bank. They are all classified as out of control.
An incident management team, firefighters, helicopters and heavy equipment are working on this fire and air tankers are available if required, Alberta Wildfire said.
The county also hired its own helicopter for water bucketing.
Dozens of properties in Yellowhead County have been destroyed by wildfires burning in the region west of Edmonton.
They are among the 89 wildfires burning across Alberta, 23 of which were listed as out of control Thursday.
“The firefighters in Yellowhead County? Very resilient. Very tired. Very, very tired,” Albert Bahri, Yellowhead County fire chief, said on Monday.
He said crews have been doing whatever they can to protect people, homes and property by using wet guards, sprinkler protection and by triaging.
“From our perspective, we try to save everything.”
He said when the two wildfires — one that started a week ago Saturday and another that crossed the Pembina River from Parkland County — joined, “there was no way to stop it.”
“It rolled through communities and homes, the bush line that was there. We fought what we could fight and had our sprinkler protection up on what we could sprinkler at the time,” Bahri said.
“We did save homes. The fire went right over the top of homes and those homes are still there.
“If it gets up into the trees, they’re dry as well. It just takes off. We had crown fires that were 200 feet in the air that were rolling over the top of homes. Our firefighters were at risk the entire time.”
The so-called Pembina Wildfire Complex includes four fires combined, burning west of Lodgepole, northwest of Brazeau Dam and 14 kilometres southeast of Edson. Together, they are burning nearly 80,000 hectares — roughly the size of New York City.
This fire is also considered out of control. It’s being fought by firefighters, helicopters and heavy equipment and air tankers are available. It’s being organized by an incident management team from B.C.
Evansburg and people who live around Wildwood (but not in it) who are returning are being asked to check their utilities when they arrive.
In Evansburg, ATCO Gas crews will be going door to door to restore gas service to each home. If residents are home, crews will assist with relighting appliances. If residents are not home, gas will be turned back on and homeowners can relight appliances on their own. The number for ATCO Gas is 310-5678.
Services like grocery services and gas stations will reopen as soon as possible, but residents are told to be prepared for a reduction in service until staff are in place.
Planning is currently underway to resume municipal services like garbage collection, the county said.
Fire bans are in place across the county and the Edson Forest Area and in the town of Edson.
In nearby Parkland County, the evacuation order was lifted May 8.
Wildfire there destroyed Pembina River Tubing Company in Entwistle.
“It is what it is,” said owner Cheryl Harris. “I can’t do anything about it so I might as well not be upset by it, but in the same breath, it doesn’t help because it’s still 16 years of our lives, gone.
“We have to reinvent ourselves now,” Harris said. “We’ve got to figure out what we’re doing, how we’re going to go about it, how we’re going to go forward.”
The cooler weather and some rain helped the fire fight but the county’s fire chief says that can change quickly.
“Conditions on the weekend don’t look great for us,” said Parkland County Fire Chief Brian Cornforth.
“We’re losing that humidity we got over the last couple days. That little rain was helpful, bought us a little bit of time, but we need some help on the weekend.”
Cornforth said local firefighters are exhausted and can’t fight the wildfire alone.
“We need a higher level of resource put into the provincial system otherwise we’re not going to get this fire out, so we’re reaching out through our elected officials up into the province to give us some support on the ground.”
Christie Tucker, information unit manager with Alberta Wildfire, said Tuesday that 20 wildland firefighters arrived from the Yukon and would join those from “Quebec, Ontario and B.C., who are already hard at work.”
On Tuesday, the mayor of Yellowhead County called for Alberta’s political parties to postpone the provincial election and focus on the wildfires.
“When this fire situation started, this whole entire county was tinder dry,” Wade Williams said.
“With this election going on, it took us five days of fighting and arguing just to get a fire and OHV (off-highway vehicle) ban put on in this county.
“Over and above that, it took a few days for the province to declare a state of emergency.”
A provincewide state of emergency was declared Saturday evening.
“This election is nothing but a distraction at this point when we, Albertans, need every government official to roll up their sleeves and fight for this province before we don’t have a province to come back to.”
The province clarified its financial support for Albertans affected by wildfire evacuation orders, saying that anyone who’s been forced out for seven days or more total — not consecutive — qualifies for support.
Adults who have been evacuated for at least seven days will receive $1,250 from the province, and an additional $500 for children under 18.
People can apply online, and, if eligible, will receive funding via e-transfer.