2 northern Alberta areas get re-entry dates after wildfire evacuations

Residents of several communities affected by wildfires in northern Alberta will tentatively be able to return home early next month.

• Visit our wildfires page for the latest news, emergency alerts and more

The province said in a wildfire update Wednesday the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 is planning for residents of Chipewyan Lake to return home starting Thursday, while the Little Red River Cree Nation, which includes John D’or Prairie, Fox Lake and Garden River, has announced people from the community will be able to go home on Monday.

Evacuation orders for both areas will be in place until those days.

Chipewyan Lake, which is 375 kilometres north of Edmonton, was evacuated on July 18, while fire forced Little Red River Cree Nation, 550 kilometres north of the capital city, to evacuate a week before.

The Semo Complex Fire, which forced the evacuation of Little Red River, is still considered out of control and is two kilometres from Hwy 58, 13 kilometres from Garden River, 15 kilometres from Fox Lake and 19 kilometres from John D'Or Prairie.

WIldfire updates

• Alberta Wildfire says 114 wildfires are burning across the province in its forest protection area, which encompasses most of northern Alberta and areas in the foothills along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, with 20 of them out of control.
• A fire ban remains in place around Jasper National Park, along with southern and northern areas. alberta.ca/fire-bans
• The City of Edmonton is changing the hours of operations for its rapid emergency support terminal for evacuees from Jasper National Park. Starting Saturday, it will be open from 8 a.m. until midnight.