Wildfires burn nearly one million hectares in Western Canada

A change in weather conditions provided much-needed relief for firefighters in Western Canada, where some 964,000 hectares have burned since the fires began more than a week ago, destroying dozens of structures and forcing the evacuation of nearly 30,000 Alberta residents.

Cooler temperatures and light, scattered showers allowed firefighters to reach wildfires over the weekend that they had been unable to access "due to extreme wildfire behavior," Christie Tucker, information officer for Alberta Wildfire, a firefighting agency, said at a news conference Sunday.

A burnt section of forest in the area near Edson, Alberta, was burning Saturday. Photo Government of Alberta Fire Service via The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

Officials expect the weather to continue to play in their favor in the coming days, with cooler temperatures and higher humidity in southern and central Alberta.

However, in the north, firefighters "will continue to struggle" due to drought conditions, Tucker said.

"People have called this season certainly unprecedented in recent memory because we have so many fires so dispersed," Tucker said.

"It's been an unusual year."

Alberta declared a state of emergency Saturday, as more than 110 wildfires burned across the province.

That number had declined, though only slightly, by Monday afternoon, when there were 98 active fires in the province.

Parts of Yellowhead, Big Lakes and Lac Ste. Anne counties remained under evacuation orders Monday.

Tucker said firefighters arrived in Alberta on Sunday from Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia to help.

Alberta firefighters are prioritizing threatened communities and the threat of loss of life, he said, including the Edson, Grizzly Complex, Deep Creek Complex and Fox Lake fires.

Residents who have been forced to evacuate are eligible for financial assistance starting Tuesday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

Each adult who has been evacuated and displaced for seven consecutive days will receive $1,250, plus $500 for each dependent under the age of 18.

About 5,000 people have passed through evacuation centres, Colin Blair, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said at Sunday's news conference.

While some begin to return home, others will have to wait.

Nearly 300 patients and long-term care residents were evacuated from Alberta Health Services facilities as of Monday morning, Smith said.

More than 50 schools were closed as of Monday morning, affecting more than 10,000 students, said Mike Ellis, Alberta's minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services.

Ellis urged all Albertans to be prepared in case they need to evacuate, whether they are in immediate danger or not.

Darryel Sowan, spokesman for the Little Red River Cree Nation, said Monday that more than 3,700 people had been evacuated over the weekend from the community of Fox Lake, the most isolated area of Little Red River territory but also where the majority of the population lives.

No one was injured, but the community lost at least 44 structures, Souwan said.

For many members of the nation, it was the first time they had left Fox Lake in their entire lives, Souan said.

"They want to go home," she said, but "because of the current situation on the ground, they are not allowed to enter until it is contained."

Sowan was in John D'Or Prairie, west of the nation's three communities, where some members had been evacuated to a gymnasium and were sleeping on mats on the floor.

"They're doing everything they can," he said, watching the smoke in the air.

"It's heartbreaking for the whole community."

Evacuation orders were also issued over the weekend in parts of British Columbia, in the Peace River Regional District.

The order was reduced to alert Sunday night.

"The wildfire situation remains volatile, and it is critical to stay out of evacuated areas to avoid endangering lives or disrupting the fire response," Leonard Hiebert, president of the Peace River Regional District, said in a statement Sunday night.

Kevin Zahara, mayor of Yellowhead County Edson, said "a steady stream" of evacuees began returning to their homes Monday morning under clear skies and a slight trail of smoke.

Some 8,400 people had evacuated the city, among the 14,000 residents who left the county under the threat of fire.

"Things are looking great, time is cooperating," he said.

"It's certainly positive, and we're looking forward to getting back to normal and putting this emergency behind us."

Zahara said there was no damage to the city itself, but there was structural damage, including the loss of a natural gas plant, on the eastern side of the county and outside the city limits.

The bushfires have also forced some of Alberta's largest oil producers to temporarily close some of their wells.

c.2023 The New York Times Company

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