Yellowhead County issues 2nd wildfire evacuation order

Nicholas Frew · CBC News

· Posted: May 31, 2025 12:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

More Yellowhead County residents had to permission their homes Friday, aft the region issued a caller wildfire evacuation bid for 2 communities and expanded an existing order.

Shortly earlier 8:30 p.m. MT Friday, the region told radical surviving successful the communities of Mercoal and Robb — each astir 240 kilometres westbound of Edmonton — they person to flee. An out-of-control fire, that spanned 400 hectares astir 9 p.m. MT Friday, burns conscionable westbound of the communities, according to Alberta Wildfire's dashboard.

Firefighters have finished installing a sprinkler extortion strategy successful Mercoal and are mounting up sprinklers successful Robb and Peers, according to a Facebook station from Yellowhead County Saturday morning.

The hamlet of Peers was affected by a separate evacuation bid Thursday, due to the fact that of a wildfire conscionable southbound of the community, astir 100 kilometres northeast of the Mercoal fire.

But connected Friday evening, the region had to grow the country affected by that order because the occurrence had grown to 1,400 hectares arsenic of 9 p.m., the wildfire dashboard shows. The representation suggests the occurrence has blocked disconnected portion of Highway 32 that connects to Highway 16, a large thoroughfare that runs from Jasper, Alta., done Edmonton, to Lloydminster, Alta.

Anyone surviving 1.6 kilometres — 1 mile — westbound of Highway 32 and northbound to McLeod River has to leave, the updated bid says.

As of 10 a.m. Saturday, 61 full progressive wildfires are burning passim Alberta, the wildfire dashboard shows. About 60 per cent are retired of control.

"It's been challenging due to the fact that we person truthful galore fires dispersed crossed specified a ample geographic area," Derrick Forsythe, provincial accusation serviceman for Alberta Wildfire, told CBC News Network Saturday afternoon.

He did not person an estimation arsenic to however galore Albertans person had to evacuate their homes, helium said.

Across the province, 800 firefighters are moving connected the assorted wildfires, helium said.

The bureau is successful the process of accessing "resources" from extracurricular Alberta, immoderate of which are starting to get Saturday, Forsythe said.

Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC) air prime wellness index, which measures however harmless the aerial is to breathe, suggests determination volition beryllium a mean hazard passim astir of the state this weekend. But successful northeastern Alberta, the hazard is expected to beryllium precise high.

The Red Earth East analyzable fire, a bid of wildfires burning successful the Slave Lake Forest Area successful bluish Alberta, is burning westbound of the Wood Buffalo region, according to the Alberta Wildfire dashboard.

Air successful Cold Lake, Alta., adjacent the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, is besides expected to precocious to beryllium precise precocious hazard this weekend, the aerial prime wellness scale suggests.

WATCH | The occurrence upwind signifier everyone is watching: 

The ECCC weather radar shows airy rainfall moving northwest successful the province, past places similar Slave Lake. Forsythe said determination is simply a accidental of lightning with it, but they'll instrumentality the rainfall each the same.

"That volition springiness america a accidental to get astir immoderate of these fires, due to the fact that they person grown to a constituent wherever it's going excessively agelong to get those guards built, get them circled, truthful we tin commencement moving and cooling them disconnected astatine the edges," helium said.

Fires adjacent aggregate highways: 511

The provincial traveller accusation service, 511 Alberta, is reporting that wildfires person unopen down respective highways successful bluish and occidental parts of the province.

The occurrence adjacent Peers closed Highway 32, from Highway 16 to the intersection of Highway 748 and Township Road 552, according to 511 Alberta's map.

Portions of highways adjacent the Mercoal fire are besides closed. The closure runs from Highway 734, conscionable northbound of Cadomin, Alta., done Highway 40 and 47, astatine McLeod River.

The Red Earth East complex, which forced the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 to evacuate the hamlet of Red Earth Creek, unopen down Highway 686 arsenic of Friday morning.

Highway 88 has been unopen down since Thursday owed to a occurrence nearby, which Alberta Wildfire estimated to screen astir 10,500 hectares arsenic of Saturday morning.

A ample occurrence conscionable northbound of Swan Hills, Alta., which triggered an evacuation bid for the municipality astir 180 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, has crossed Highway 33. The road, from Swan Hills to the intersection with Highway 2, has been closed since May 26.