Evacuation orders lifted for Edson and Parkland County but not Wildwood and Evansburg

An evacuation order for parts of Yellowhead County - including Edson - has been lifted.

About 8,000 people from Edson were forced out of their homes on Friday because of wildfire.

High winds that day whipped up the fire, and the town's mayor said the wildfire south of town moved 20 kilometres that night.

"I would say up until Saturday night I thought we were in pretty dire straits, and then the weather changed on us and mother nature just did her thing and has helped us immensely," Kevin Zahara said.

Zahara is encouraging residents to return slowly, saying grocery stores are not fully stocked, and the hospital's emergency department won't open until later in the day on Monday.

"We do want to get people back into their homes and comfortable and back to work," he said. "Obviously everything's going to be closed probably for most of the day today, but things will start to reopen on Tuesday."

He added he's grateful that no homes or other buildings were destroyed in the town.

Edson issued permits for essential workers to return Sunday night in order to prepare services for residents.

"They will be working to get these services up and running here this morning. We hope that will happen as quickly as possible, but we are warning people that things like the hospital are going to take a little bit of time, so if you are having some medical issues, maybe stay put until those places are reopened."

Because residents are spread out both east and west of the town, Zahara expects traffic congestion might be eased.

A portion of Highway 16 between Edson and Edmonton is closed near Evansburg and Entwistle, which will limit access for residents returning from Edmonton.

"Hopefully we’ll have a very good, slow entry within the community with not a lot of chaos," Zahara said.

Buses will be leaving from reception centres throughout the day on Monday.

Buses will leave Hinton at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., and a bus will leave the reception centre in Jasper at 12 p.m.

Upon returning home, residents are advised to check their utilities are working. Anyone with issues should contact their service providers.

Fire bans remain in place and the Town of Edson is still under a water ban.

As a result of the water ban, the spray park remains closed, all outdoor water use is prohibited, bulk water hauling is suspended, and other water conservation measures are in place.

The ban was implemented on Friday to maintain water levels in the reservoir, as extra water resources were being used on firefighting. 

Edson firefighters stood on the highway on Monday to welcome residents home.

"It's been trying on all of us, but everybody’s here to help, and residents have been great," said Captain Bruce Whitworth of the Edson Fire Department.

WILDWOOD AND EVANSBURG

Residents in Wildwood and Evansburg are still not allowed to return home due to a lack of critical services.

A reception centre will be set up in Edson for those residents.

"The Town of Edson is already working to get our reception centre reopened here at the leisure centre and those folks will be transferred there. It'll allow them to be a little bit closer to home and alleviate the pressure we've put on the other two communities," Zahara said.

While no structures were destroyed in Edson, not all Yellowhead County residents were as lucky.

Erwin Betcher stayed behind during the evacuation to try to protect his property.

"We stayed here, we wanted to try to protect, I guess everybody was busy, firefighters were busy so we kind of stepped in and we basically tried to water as much as we can."

Despite his efforts, fire destroyed five buildings, including a house and renovated barn on his farm northeast of Edson.

A second home on the property was virtually untouched.

"We're a strong community out here so we’re gonna get by it," he said, adding he's grateful no one was hurt. 

Wildfire destroyed five buildings on a farm in Yellowhead County, Alta.

Wade Williams, the mayor of Yellowhead County, confirmed to CTV News that approximately 25 homes have been destroyed in the Shining Bank area and south of Evansburg and Wildwood.

ENTWISTLE AND PARKLAND COUNTY

The mandatory evacuation order for Entwistle and all residents in Parkland County was lifted at 5 p.m. on Monday.

"I was kind of hoping [my home] would be the same way and it was, so it was kind of nice to come home not worrying about your house burning down," resident Corrine Baxter told CTV News Edmonton that evening.

"We don't have any gas, but that's fine," another resident, Carmen DeGroot, added. "We're lucky. Other people here lost their homes."

Parkland County Mayor Allan Gamble confirmed Tuesday morning that three houses on the edge of the community, an undetermined number of outbuildings, and one business – Pembina River Tubing – were all destroyed.

"We're saddened by the loss of business and also those that lost their residences. But we're very proud of the fire services and the work that they did to save so many homes, as well," he said during an interview.

He expected all residents would have their utilities working by the end of Tuesday.

He wants residents to remain prepared to leave on an hour's notice.

"There still is an active wildfire in the area with many hot spots that are smouldering. We are on the offense with our fire services team, working to extinguish those hot spots, however, with warmer weather coming towards the end of the week, we want residents to be diligent and to be on alert," Gamble explained.

Anyone who does not want to return home was asked to call 780-203-3258 to register.

CANADA POST ALERT

Canada Post issued a notice on Monday that mail delivery service has been suspended to Atikameg, Edson, Fox Creek and Rainbow Lake as a result of the fires.

Existing delivery alerts for Drayton Valley, Entwistle, Evansburg, and Wildwood issued on Friday remain in place. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson, Nicole Lampa and Marek Tkach