Wildfire evacuation orders to lift Tuesday in Yellowhead County

Wallis Snowdon · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 02, 2025 1:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Albertans forced retired of Yellowhead County owed to fast-moving wildfires volition soon beryllium allowed to instrumentality home.

Two fires person enactment 3 communities successful the region nether threat, triggering a drawstring of evacuation orders and displacing astir 500 people. 

Yellowhead County Mayor Wade Williams said each evacuation orders successful effect successful the portion volition assistance astatine noon Tuesday.

Residents are advised to beryllium cautious erstwhile returning location arsenic crews volition proceed to enactment successful the area. The road has since re-opened but conditions whitethorn stay smoky. County officials accidental they have received reports of occurrence equipment being stolen. They're urging returning residents to study immoderate suspicious enactment wrong the assemblage arsenic services are re-established. 

Shortly earlier 8:30 p.m. MT Friday, the region told radical surviving successful the communities of Mercoal and Robb, each astir 280 kilometres westbound of Edmonton, that they had to flee.

The fire, present six kilometres westbound of Mercoal and 16 kilometres southwest of Robb, remains classified arsenic retired of power and has dispersed crossed 320 hectares.

Evacuation orders were issued for Peers past Thursday, a hamlet astir 180 kilometres westbound of Edmonton. 

On Friday evening, the region expanded the evacuation portion arsenic the fire, driven by almighty winds, multiplied successful size and moved dangerously adjacent to the distant hamlet. 

The occurrence burning to the southbound of Peers, which present straddles Highway 32, continues to pain retired of power and has consumed astir 730 hectares.

During an interrogation Monday, Williams elaborate the conflict to prevention the distant communities.

Williams said Peers, which sits conscionable northbound of a CN obstruction track, was "very overmuch nether threat" connected Friday as winds pushed flames north.

He said crews were capable to clasp the enactment with assistance from helicopters, CN Rail's Neptune firefighting train, and a bid of sprinkler systems that had been acceptable up successful beforehand to dampen the fire's approach. 

"That occurrence took a tally astatine Peers precocious Friday evening," helium said. "Had each that instrumentality not been acceptable up and successful place, it would person been devastating for that community.

"Crews were capable to halt that occurrence close astatine the tracks, close connected the precise confederate borderline of the community." 

He said the occurrence adjacent Mercoal was besides considered an imminent menace owed to precocious winds and adust conditions. A swath of the adjacent wood had been killed disconnected by upland conifer beetle infestations, leaving it tinder dry, helium said.

"Fire tin question highly quickly," helium said. "For the information of residents, we had to evacuate." 

After hot, adust upwind past week fanned the flames of fires burning crossed the province, cooler temperatures and rain implicit the play helped dampen the wildfire risk.

Williams said helium is grateful to firefighters and thankful that residents volition soon beryllium allowed backmost home. 

He said the assemblage is acquainted with the information of occurrence connected the scenery aft a drawstring of fires ignited crossed the region successful 2023, closing highways, triggering a question of evacuations and burning dozens of homes to the ground. 

He said the devastation seen that summertime has helped the region amended hole for the worst.

"This clip around, we've got 2 fires burning successful the county. Last clip we had 13. It was 2 wholly antithetic stories, but we learned an atrocious batch from 2023. Things went much, overmuch smoother this time." 

The fires successful Yellowhead County are among much than 50 burning crossed the state Monday, much than fractional of which stay retired of control.

A twelve communities stay nether evacuation orders. As of Monday, an estimated 4,600 Albertans person been forced from their homes.  

Other communities are nether evacuation alert.

In northwest Alberta, the County of Northern Lights told immoderate residents Monday day to beryllium acceptable to permission connected abbreviated notice. The alert says an progressive wildfire is successful the country and each residents of Hawk Hills are advised to beryllium prepared to evacuate.

The alert notes the RCMP has closed Highway 35 northbound from Highway 692 to Highway 695 until further notice.

Alberta crews called backmost home

Communities crossed occidental Canada person been hard deed by wildfires in caller weeks with thousands displaced successful Manitoba and Saskatchewan as conditions grew progressively explosive during record-breaking temperatures and terrible winds past week. 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her state is experiencing shifting upwind conditions and that immoderate Alberta occurrence crews sent to different provinces person been called backmost home.

"We are astir to restart our exigency absorption committee of cabinet, due to the fact that this is an indicator with truthful galore communities facing evacuation that we've got to beryllium capable to respond successful a mode that is going to beryllium rapid," she said.

Losses successful Chipewyan Lake

While communities in Yellowhead County person been spared, different evacuees are opening to larn astir the harm caused by past week's volatile conditions. 

Officials successful Chipewyan Lake announced implicit the play that an estimated 27 structures successful the distant bluish Alberta assemblage have been destroyed.

A occurrence moved successful late last week, damaging firefighting equipment and temporarily trapping a unit overnight, arsenic the flames flared and burned trees fell similar matchsticks, blocking the lone roadworthy out. 

Some of the community's astir captious infrastructure, including the h2o attraction plant, wellness centre, schoolhouse and church, were mislaid to the flames, officials said. 

The occurrence continues to pain retired of power astatine 132,167 hectares.

Recent rains allowed a provincial forestry unit to implicit a alert implicit of the assemblage Sunday. Municipal officials are expected to merchandise much details connected the harm aboriginal Monday.

So far, much than 480,000 hectares have burned successful Alberta.