“Our goals are first to protect people, and second to protect property.”
There were 83 active wildfires in the province since Saturday afternoon, consisting of 21 out of control, and about 16,500 individuals from numerous other neighborhoods in main and northern Alberta stayed out of their houses.
Saturday’s increasing temperature levels, which are anticipated to continue throughout the weekend and into early next week, were anticipated to increase the spread of the fires.
“Everyone needs to understand the risk because it’s changing so quickly. People need to understand there may be instances that their rescue wouldn’t be possible,” Agriculture Minister Nate Horner informed a wildfire press conference Saturday, keeping in mind ranchers and farmers with issues about their animals must call community authorities initially.
“It’s very important that we follow the evacuation orders, first and foremost.”
During an information session hosted by the Grande Prairie Regional Emergency Partnership earlier this week, one of the residents forced from his home by the Dunes West fire said the blaze could have been stopped within 12 hours if the county had allowed people to perform their own fire prevention.
Others wanted to get back to check on farm animals that had to be left behind.
Josee St-Onge, an information officer with Alberta Wildfire, said the wildfire danger remains extreme in most of the province this weekend.
“While we have seen cooler temperatures and some rain in previous days, it’s not enough to make a significant difference on most of these large wildfires. Fire activity will pick up today,” St-Onge informed Saturday’s news conference.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was in Grande Prairie on Friday surveying the fire zone and meeting with local authorities and Indigenous leaders.
On Saturday morning, while making an election campaign announcement on health care, she said the government had actually simply authorized building and construction of “a pretty extensive fire guard for the city.”
About 300 members of the Canadian Armed Forces are being released throughout the province to aid with the blazes over the next couple of days. Firefighters released from other provinces are likewise presently combating blazes in Alberta, and another 200 are anticipated in the coming days from the United States.
This report by The Canadian Press was very first released May 13, 2023.
The Canadian Press
