RCMP close Highway 2 near Slave Lake Sunday night due to forest fire

An RCMP vehicle is seen in an undated file photo. (CTV News Edmonton)

A section of Highway 2 near Slave Lake was closed Sunday due to a "rapidly progressing" forest fire in the nearby community of Canyon Creek.

Around 4:20 p.m., RCMP said the highway was closed between Seppola Drive (Range Road 80) and Centre Avenue.

Open sections of the highway near the fire were experiencing poor visibility due to the smoke, RCMP said, and larger stretches of the road may be closed as the fire progresses.

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Travellers were asked to avoid the area, and residents of the area were told to "be vigilant." 

"Anyone who does not feel safe are being encouraged to leave and re-entry will be possible once the area is deemed safe," Mounties said in a release.

At 7:45 p.m., the Alberta Wildfire Dashboard showed the 3-hectare fire was being held on the north side of the highway, near the bank of Lesser Slave Lake. 

The hamlet of Canyon Creek is around 23 kilometres northwest of Slave Lake.