The mayor of an Alberta town whose 4,000 residents have been evacuated because of a wildfire says all evacuees are doing well, despite concern for their homes.

According to High Level Mayor Crystal McAteer, evacuees at two support centres in La Crete and Fort Vermilion are being well supported by the communities that have taken them in.

“They’re very happy where they are now. Of course they’re concerned, and they want to know what’s happening with their homes,” McAteer told CTV News on Saturday.

High Level was given a 72-hour evacuation order on Monday, when a fire near the town grew to 80,000 hectares and moved to just three kilometres away from the town.

The evacuation order was extended Thursday when the size of the fire had grown to 92,000 hectares.

McAteer said the fire crews that remain in High Level have been busy preparing the town in case the fire moves closer, which could happen if a forecasted shift in wind direction proves true on Sunday.

“(Alberta Agriculture and Forestry) strategically removed debris from around the town, like hot spots and other areas like that, they built fireguards, they sprinklered the community, and now we’re waiting for the winds to come back towards the town,” McAteer said.

“They’re anticipating that will be tomorrow. And if all of the fireguards and triggers that they have put into place hold, then hopefully, we’ll be back into our communities soon.”

Alberta Wildlife said lasting drought conditions have contributed to the fire near High Level.

“They haven’t had rain in a while. We got into a situation where you have high winds, you’ve got hot weather, and very, very low humidity, and it’s really easy for a fire to start and to spread quickly,” explained Christie Tucker, the department’s information unit lead.

Officials said they couldn't estimate how long the evacuation order would stay in place.

To help with the expense, the Alberta government is offering emergency payments of $1,250 per adult and $500 per child evacuee.

“We have our people spread from here to Slave Lake to Grande Prairie to Peace River, so they are in financial constraints, and this will definitely help with the fuel and hotel costs and foods and things like that,” McAteer said.

As of Saturday afternoon, the High Level fire was 105,200 hectares in size and still classified as out of control by Alberta Wildfire.  

The status of any wildfire being tracked by Alberta Wildfire can be seen online.