'Please stay patient with us': No timeline for Drayton Valley residents to return home

As Drayton Valley residents wait for word on when they can return home, officials are asking for patience.

About 7,000 people were evacuated from the town on Thursday night.

An evacuation order is also in place for a portion of the surrounding Brazeau County, which officials estimate is affecting an additional 3,000 people.

"The number one question on everybody’s mind is when can we go home?" said Drayton Valley Mayor Nancy Dodds on Wednesday.

It's a question she doesn't have an answer for yet.

"Although you might see clouds and sunshine behind me and no sign of flames behind me, I need our residents and everybody to know that the situation is still not safe here in Drayton Valley and Brazeau County. The fires are still out of control, and our crews are still fighting these fires."

It's a sentiment that's echoed by Tom Thomson, the chief of Drayton Valley/Brazeau County Fire Services.

"I'm just asking that people please stay patient with us. I know it’s difficult, I know it's frustrating, we hear you, but we are doing the very best we can. All of the employees are working 14-16 hours a day," Thomson said.

He said resources have arrived from around Alberta and even the United States to help fight the fire.

"We have all the expertise that we need, and they are doing an exceptional job to get this fire under control."

"We were just joking today that if you could build a Stanley Cup hockey team in regards to firefighting, we have a Stanley Cup team here, so that’s really good."

Thomson said they've received offers from residents with water trucks to help fight the fire, but he said it's not the kind of assistance they need right now.

"Having a water truck sitting on the side of the road spraying water onto the grass or onto the ground isn’t effective for us right now because we are beyond that stage.

"We now are requiring firefighters to be in the bush, digging up the fire, which is very physically demanding and labour intensive, and that’s why we are calling on experts to come in and help us with that part of the fire."

Thomson said there's no timeline yet for residents to return home, but officials are still preparing for their arrival.

"Right now we do have appropriate agencies that are doing assessments on critical infrastructure. So that would include Alberta Health Services, utility companies, they are already actively in the process of doing that."

Thomson said a lot could depend on the weather in the upcoming days. More hot, dry weather is in the forecast.

"We are worried about the weather that’s coming up in the next couple of days. It's going to be hot and sunny and windy again."

"I'm very confident in the team and the crew that we have here, but everybody is nervous, I’m not going to hide that, including our experts."

Drayton Valley Mayor Nancy Dodds.

Dodds is asking residents to make sure they're getting their information from a reliable source.

"I just need you to be courageous, to not listen to the rumours and the false information that’s being put out there, to continue to look for updates on the Town of Drayton Valley and Brazeau County Facebook pages."

She added that she's updating her own social media with information as well.

"Be strong, be supportive of one another, and just be patient. We’re going to get through this in the coming days and hopefully we’ll be back in our homes as soon as possible."

With files from Miriam Valdes-Carletti