Yellowhead County evacuation alert, state of local emergency over fire finished
An out-of-control wildfire west of Edmonton held its size over Wednesday night at 180 hectares, but mostly only smoldered the next day.
Officials said in an update Thursday morning there was very little fire activity or smoke, and no open flame visible at the scene nine kilometres west of Evansburg. By evening, that had changed slightly: Alberta Wildfire noted "some open flame in the inside of the perimeter of the fire but very little fire activity or smoke is observed near the perimeter.
"The fire is mostly smoldering on the ground."
The wildfire had crossed the Lobstick River but not Highway 16.
Thirty-four firefighters spent the day searching for and extinguishing hotspots. They made "good progress" making wet lines on Wednesday to contain the fire and continued with the effort Thursday, with help from helicopters bucketing, Alberta Wildfire said.
More than 50 firefighters were expected to be working on Friday. As well, four helicopters will be helping on Thursday and six pieces of heavy equipment are on standby.
The provincial crews are assisting six units from Yellowhead County.
END OF EVACUATION ALERT, STATE OF LOCAL EMERGENCY
The rural municipality ended a state of local emergency at 6 p.m. and an evacuation alert that had been an order just one day earlier.
"It has been determined that the wildfire is no longer a threat to the community," a statement from the county read.
"Yellowhead County Fire Department (YCFD) firefighters will cease hands-on structural protection and will demobilize. Alberta Wildfire firefighters will continue firefighting operations and monitor the fire."
However, sprinkler systems will remain on houses over the weekend and the county will test them each morning.
Highway 16A from Highway 22 west to Lobstick remained closed for a portion of Thursday, and Alberta 511 warned drivers in the Entwistle and surrounding area of poor visibility due to smoke.
More information is available from Yellowhead County, Alberta Wildfire, Alberta Emergency Alert, and 511 Alberta.
The Yellowhead County evacuation call centre was closed, too. Residents needing more information were asked to call the administration office in Edson at 780-723-4800.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Inside Canada's chaotic response to avian flu
A CFIA official is calling it the 'largest animal health emergency that this country has ever had to face.' A joint IJF/CTV News investigation looks into Canada's response to the bird flu pandemic, and how it's ravaged the country's farms.
What Donald Trump's election victory could mean for Canada
Following president-elect Donald Trump's decisive election victory, there are sure to be significant knock-on effects for Canada. Here's a look at the different areas in which a second Trump presidency may affect Canadians.
Cuba left reeling after Category 3 hurricane ravages island and knocks out power grid
Cuba was left reeling Thursday after a fierce Category 3 hurricane ripped across the island and knocked out the country's power grid.
The world's 10 richest people got a record US$64 billion richer from Trump's re-election
Wednesday wasn't just a good day for Donald Trump. The wealth of the world’s 10 richest people also soared by a record amount, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.
Influencer is banned from future NYC marathons for bringing a camera crew to last weekend's race
A social media influencer from Texas was disqualified from last weekend's New York City Marathon and banned from future competitions after he ran the race with a camera crew on e-bikes in tow.
Sleepy during the day? You may be at higher risk for a pre-dementia syndrome, study finds
If you find yourself sleepy during your daily activities in your older age, you may need to consider it more than an inconvenience — since the fatigue may indicate you’re at higher risk for developing a condition that can lead to dementia, a new study has found.
B.C. man discovers 115 stuffed animals hidden behind wall, begins donating them to people around world
As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.
Biden gets blamed by Harris allies for the vice president's resounding loss to Trump
Joe Biden's name wasn't on the ballot, but history will likely remember Kamala Harris' resounding defeat as his loss too.
2024 will likely be the hottest year on record, climate agency warns
For the second year in a row, Earth will almost certainly be the hottest it's ever been. And for the first time, the globe this year reached more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming compared to the pre-industrial average, the European climate agency Copernicus said Thursday.