Residents west of Edmonton allowed back home as wildfire burns out of control
The wildfire detected in Yellowhead County Tuesday afternoon still burned out of control a day later, according to Alberta Wildfire.
The wildfire, nine kilometres west of Evansburg north of Highway 16 and west of Highway 22, grew from 125 hectares to an estimated 180 hectares overnight.
"People are tense," Yellowhead County Mayor Jim Eglinski said on Tuesday. "With the dry weather we're having right now, people are nervous."
Credit: Alberta WildfireMore than 30 firefighters, six air tankers and four helicopters worked to extinguish the wildfire on Wednesday, with warm and windy weather expected throughout the day.
Fifty residents had to leave their homes behind when an evacuation order was put in place.
"By the time I got too close to where I could see smoke half a mile from the house, they turned us back and said, 'You got to evacuate now,'" George Hyshka told CTV News Edmonton at the Evansburg Arena, where an evacuation centre was set up.
Credit: Yellowhead County
Residents with evacuation questions were encouraged to call 1-833-334-4630.
No injuries or destroyed structures had been reported.
"Our priority is protecting human lives and property," Josee St-Onge with Alberta Wildfire said.
"We're confident that we have the right resources to get this fire under control in a timely manner, but everyone in the area should remain on high alert."
At 7 p.m. Wednesday, residents in the evacuated area were allowed to return home. Officials said residents were still on evacuation alert and should be ready to leave at a moment's notice if conditions change.
Highway 16 is open to traffic in both directions but there is an advisory for reduced visibility between Highway 22 and Highway 753 due to smoke from the wildfire.
Highway 16A is closed to traffic with the exception of evacuated residents.
For up-to-date traffic information in the area of the wildfire, visit 511 Alberta.
The Edson Forest Area is under a fire advisory, where all existing burn permits other than burn barrels are currently cancelled. Safe wood campfires and backyard fire pits are allowed.
Evansburg is around 100 km west of Edmonton.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Steven Dyer, Nahreman Issa and Jeremy Thompson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.