Yellowhead County, a region of Alberta that has been ravaged by wildfires already this season, expanded an evacuation order once again Monday for the area east of Shiningbank Lake.
The order was expanded south from Township Road 550 to the CN Rail mainline that runs through Niton.
An Alberta Emergency Alert was sent out at around 6:40 p.m., advising of the expansion.
The evacuation zone is now: north of the CN Rail Line above Niton, east of Highway 32, south of Township Road 570 east to Range Road 130, south to Township Road 561, and west of Range Road 110.
“Residents in this area need to evacuate,” the alert reads.
“There is a wildfire east of Shiningbank Lake.
“The established evacuation routes are: south on Range Road 130 or south on Highway 32; west on Highway 748; or south on Highway 751.”
Evacuees can access a reception centre at the Holiday Inn in Edson at 4520 2 Avenue. Evacuees can register at the reception centre or call 1-833-334-4630.
Other parts of Shiningbank have already been evacuated due to out-of-control wildfire.
The fire is part of the Deep Creek Complex which includes two other fires that broke out three weeks ago near Entwistle and Evansburg.
On Monday afternoon, Alberta Wildfire said the out-of-control fire first detected on May 5 grew over the weekend from an estimated 8,791 hectares to 20,996 hectares.
The wildfire (EWF035) doubled in size two days but did not increase to the northeast or northwest, Alberta Wildfire said.
The wildfire is now south of Township Road 570, burnt down to the south, two kilometers north of the railroad track in Niton Junction. The fire moved across the Range Road 123 and burnt up to the Lobstick River.
Firefighters did not observe very much fire activity Sunday or Monday, thanks to the higher relative humidity, cooler temperatures and a little precipitation.
“The precipitation received wasn’t significant enough to change the dry conditions but did allow firefighters to continue working on containing the wildfire,” a detailed update Sunday night said.
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The fire had a few flare ups in the interior, but mostly smouldered on the southern edge where the newest activity was happening.
On Sunday, firefighters established new containment lines and built onto existing ones on the southern edge, using heavy equipment and natural breaks like roads and open cut blocks. Once the wildfire is contained, firefighters will begin moving towards the interior of the fire, looking for and extinguishing hotspots.
Helicopters were available Sunday to assist on the fire but aircrafts didn’t fly due to smoky conditions and poor visibility.
Firefighters will continue to patrol the boundaries and extinguish hotspots on the edge. Alberta Wildfire said residents will notice hotspots within the interior and this is very common for larger wildfires.
“They must be confident that the fire is contained and once that’s established, they’ll start to work from the edges out and work their way in, searching for hotspots by looking and smelling for smoke, and feeling with their bare hands for heat,” said the update by Alberta Wildfire information officer Caroline Charbonneau.
“Once found, they must dig it up with hand tools and put them out with water. This process can take a very long time, simply putting water on a wildfire does not extinguish it as fires can burn deep into the ground and re-surface later when the conditions are favorable to burn.”
Dozer operators and land owners were also helping with the fire last week, Charbonneau said in a previous update.
“This is a special situation where the landowners are able to work closely with industry in ensuring the safety of the pipelines and the operators.”
The Deep Creek Complex has a total of 44 firefighters, plus 19 incident management firefighters, working with 26 pieces of heavy equipment on it.
Additionally, eight helicopters are helping with aerial assessments and dropping water.
Alberta Wildfire urged members of the public to stay away from the wildfire areas, adding if crews in the air see people near burning areas, they cannot do their job effectively.
“You may be unintentionally impeding our operations. Please give our firefighters the room and time they need to complete their tasks.”
Woodlands County and the Whitecourt Fire Department have also installed sprinkler protection on houses in the immediate area of the fire and will continue to monitor the situation, the province said.
For a complete and up-to-date list of evacuation alerts and orders, visit Alberta Emergency Alerts online.
Shiningbank Lake is about 50 kilometres northeast of Edson and 80 kilometres southwest of Whitecourt.
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