Wildfire burning west of Evansburg, Alta., held by firefighters, not expected to grow in size

EDMONTON -

Firefighters continue to extinguish hot spots of a wildfire west of Edmonton that forced 50 people from their homes in Yellowhead County earlier in the week.

The wildfire located nine kilometres west of Evansburg, within the Edson Forest Area, was updated from out-of-control to being held just after 11 a.m. on Saturday.

As of Sunday, the fire continued to be held by crews.

Officials did not expect the wildfire to grow any larger unless conditions changed.

“The fire danger in the Edson Forest Area, where this wildfire is located, is still very high due to the hot and dry conditions,” Josee St-Onge, provincial information officer with Alberta Wildfire, said in a statement.

“We urge Albertans to use extreme caution if they are spending time in Alberta’s forested areas.”

The cause of the fire continues to be investigated.

The fire was originally detected on Tuesday around 4 p.m. as a two-hectare fire that swelled to around 125 hectares in size four hours later.

According to Alberta Wildfire, there are currently nine other wildfires burning throughout the province – eight of which are under control.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Steven Dyer