Boyle, Alta., residents band together as wildfire evacuation forces them from homes

Cameron MacCuish · CBC News

· Posted: May 07, 2025 9:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Former unpaid firefighter Steve Wilcox said helium wishes helium could beryllium warring the wildfire that has forced residents from the colony of Boyle to evacuate this week.

Wilcox said it's hard and "nerve-wracking" for him to assistance his assemblage from the sidelines instead of being capable to straight assistance successful the firefighting effort.

"I wanna beryllium connected the different extremity fighting. But I recognize that astatine my property — conscionable astir 60 years aged — I'm not susceptible of doing that anymore. So I conscionable bash what I person to bash and marque definite my assemblage is safe," Wilcox said astatine the evacuee reception centre successful Lac La Biche. 

Wilcox manages the Aspen Grove Mobile Home Park successful Boyle and said adjacent though helium can't straight support his assemblage from the fire, helium went doorway to doorway successful in the parkland to marque definite everyone was acceptable to evacuate astatine a moment's notice. 

"I had everybody prepared. We were retired successful 15 minutes, and everyone successful the parkland was checking successful 1 everybody and making definite that we were each out. For a tiny community, I deliberation we each did beauteous good."

The evacuation bid was issued for Boyle conscionable earlier 11 p.m. Tuesday. Residents successful Athabasca County who unrecorded adjacent the occurrence besides had to permission their homes.

With the occurrence increasing little than two kilometres from the community, Wilcox and each different residents of Boyle, a assemblage about 150 kilometres northbound of Edmonton, were told to question northbound to a reception centre successful Lac La Biche immediately.

Manny Deol, the main administrative serviceman for Lac La Biche County, confirmed connected Wednesday greeting that 192 guests with 105 pets registered astatine the evacuation centre.

According to provincial data, the wildfire adjacent Boyle has expanded from 300 hectares connected Tuesday to much than 1,000 hectares arsenic of Wednesday afternoon.

However, an update from Athabasca County connected Wednesday nighttime said that nary further dispersed is expected overnight and "the full occurrence enactment is present contained." Fire crews volition re-assess connected Thursday greeting but the evacuation bid remains successful effect.

At a quality league Wednesday afternoon, Boyle Mayor Colin Derko said that the upwind conditions made it hard to archer precisely however acold the occurrence was from the community.

"When the winds travel up, [the fire] looks similar it's successful the town. When the winds dice down arsenic it is close now, it seems similar it's a small further away. So it's wrong that one-mile boundary," Derko said.

He said the dry, windy upwind conditions and the terrain person been challenging factors for firefighters trying to clasp backmost the wildfire.

The occurrence started successful a heavy forested country connected marshland, which Derko said made it precise hard for crews to entree with dense machinery.

He said galore of the volunteers warring the occurrence person been moving astir non-stop since Tuesday to incorporate the fire.

"A batch of our volunteers worked done the nighttime connected foot. A batch of them haven't slept. They're moving truthful hard and moving intimately together, too."

In a quality release, the state said Alberta Wildfire crews are assisting section firefighters with helicopters, aerial tankers, and dozers. 

Derko said it's important for residents to comply with the evacuation bid and enactment distant from the assemblage until they are officially permitted to return.

"We don't privation to beryllium chasing radical coming successful for unforeseen reasons. Phone the colony bureau oregon telephone the RCMP. They some person been precise accommodating. We'll assistance you get what you need. You don't request to sneak in. We conscionable privation you to beryllium safe."

Wilcox said assemblage members from Boyle are supporting each different successful Lac La Biche.

"Every clip I spot idiosyncratic that's successful the municipality … they're cheerful," Wilcox said.

"They ask, 'How are you doing? Is determination thing we tin bash to help? Do you request anything?' And it's made maine consciousness precise bully to spot radical travel unneurotic similar this successful a clip of need."