More Than 29,000 Albertans Evacuated Due to Wildfires

Smoke from an out-of-control fire near Lodgepole, Alta., is shown in this May 4, 2023, handout photo. The Canadian Press/Alberta Wildfire

At approximately 6:30 p.m. local time on May 7, Alberta had 108 active wildfires burning, with 29 considered out of control and 61 under control and contained. Another 22 fires were being held and not expected to grow past expected boundaries.

Officials at an afternoon press conference earlier that day said 16 new wildfires started within the previous 24 hours, with the total area of the province burned this year now over 375,000 hectares.

More than 29,000 individuals have been evacuated to safe locations, Colin Blair, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said at the press conference.

Blair said that in some cases ongoing smoke and fire conditions are preventing officials from fully assessing property loss. “We know structures have been lost. But our first priority is protecting lives and dealing with the emergency response,” said Blair.

The province maintains a public dashboard providing the status of current and current-year wildfires. Current year wildfires, in 2023, number 405 as of 6:30 p.m. local time. The suspected cause of each fire is also tracked, with human activity indicated for 171, or 42.22 percent, of the current-year wildfires and lightning indicated for 13, or 3.21 percent. The remaining 221, or 54.57 percent, remain under investigation.

Help Coming

Speaking at the press conference, Christie Tucker from Alberta Wildfire said that “today we’ve seen some light scattered showers in the southern part of the province as far north as Fox Creek. The good news is that it did have an impact on fire behaviour today in that area. It allowed firefighters to get a chance to work on the areas of some wildfires that they haven’t been able to get close to because of extreme wildfire behaviour.”

“When we see extreme wildfire behaviour, like we have seen in the last few days. It can present challenges that would make it unsafe for firefighters to be in direct proximity with the flame,” she said.

“When we talk about prioritizing safety and human life, that includes our folks as well. So we have to be sure that firefighters are going to remain and be able to fight the fire as safely as possible,” said Tucker.

The province declared a state of emergency on May 6 and the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre moved to a level four response, the highest level, to deal with the situation.

Tucker said an incident management team from British Columbia was on route to help and will take over the wildfire near Edson and the Pembina complex in the northern Rocky Mountain House area.

The province has requested firefighters through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) as well as partners in Montana and other U.S. states, Tucker said. CIFFC is not-for-profit corporation owned and operated by the federal, provincial, and territorial wildland fire management agencies to coordinate resources.

Tucker added that fire alerts and notifications are being “supported with a national system.”

Close to 80 wildland firefighters arrived in Alberta on May 6 from Quebec and Ontario to assist the province with firefighting efforts, she said.

Prioritizing Safety

Premier Danielle Smith said on Twitter on May 6, “The number of wildfires and evacuations has increased again and we must prioritize the safety of Albertans. We are putting all our resources toward fighting these fires.”

Smith was at the Alberta Emergency Management Centre in Edmonton at the start of the day on May 7, and afterwards met with Official Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley to keep her informed of the wildfire situation.

Notley was premier at the time of the Fort McMurray fire in 2016, which led to the evacuation of more than 88,000 people and the loss of thousands of homes and businesses.

“At times like these, Albertans expect all their elected leaders to work together to help our people,” Smith said. She also visited the evacuation centre in Edmonton to meet with affected Alberta families, accompanied by Notley.

Smith toured affected wildfire areas near Entwistle, and said it had rained just a few minutes before her visit.

“We are all thankful,” Smith said.

“Our emergency services personnel are doing everything they can to stop these fires. When Alberta comes together in tough moments like these, we become better. I am thankful for our firefighters, our police officers, our nurses, doctors, paramedics, and every Albertan who has answered the call to help,” she said.

Rain to the north and west of Edmonton fell on May 7, with 5 to 12 millimetres of rain recorded in areas on fire in Edson, Hinton, and Jasper. Meteorologists were calling for scattered showers to continue throughout the day. The cooler temperatures and rain are expected to take some of the pressure off firefighters, although provincial officials warn of lightning sparking new fires, reported The Globe and Mail.

Over 8,000 people have been evacuated from Edson and many of those affected are sheltering in Hinton and Jasper, Blair said at the May 7 press conference. Another community affected, Drayton Valley and Brazeau County, evacuated more than 7,000 people, with some 1,000 sheltering at the Edmonton Expo Centre, he added.

“Critical power and electricity infrastructure is being threatened and the current priority is the protection of the substation, which powers both Hinton and Jasper” and nearby areas, said Blair.

An election is underway in Alberta, with election day set for May 29, and some candidates from areas affected by the fires have announced they are suspending campaign activities on May 6.

Elections Alberta says it’s closely monitoring the wildfires and evacuations to determine what accommodations need to be made, according to its website.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.