Air Tanker One.
That’s the nickname the folks with Alberta Wildfire have given to Mother Nature.
Unfortunately for them, that particular fire fighter seems to be ignoring their needs lately, for the most part.
After several days of relative calm on the wildfire front, the Chuckegg Wildfire, which threatened High Level late last month, is on the move again.
In some places, the wildfire has jumped the Peace River, south of High Level. The south side of the river is thickly forested, all the way to the hamlet of La Crete.
Tuesday, the hamlet was evacuated. The next day, 200 more people southwest of La Crete were also told to leave.
In May, La Crete was home to an evacuation centre, for people from High Level.
Now, its residents are in need of the same help.
“I stood behind the counter and served others. Feels a little bit different on the other side of the table,” Pete Wiebe told CTV News, at the reception centre in Fort Vermilion.
Wildfire crews are working on the southeast side of the river, putting out spot fires, and trying to increase the size of the natural fire break created by the river itself, by removing trees and plants.
“When you’ve got a fire guard such as the Peace River and it gets jumped multiple times, it's a pretty tough animal to fight,” said Josh Knelson, the reeve of Mackenzie County.
There are currently about 8,500 people evacuated across Alberta, due to wildfires.
Wildfire officials are now hoping for a significant downpour in the coming days, to help slow down the fire’s expansion.
There’s no timeline on when residents will be able to return home.
