Evacuation order issued for Edson, parts of Yellowhead County due to wildfire
CBC
An evacuation order has been issued for the Town of Edson and some regions of Yellowhead County, west of Edmonton due to wildfire danger.
It's the second time Edson residents have been forced to flee their homes in the last month.
The town was evacuated May 5 because of an encroaching wildfire, but residents were allowed to return on May 8. Other parts of Yellowhead County also had to evacuate in May, but by the end of the month, everyone had been allowed to return.
An emergency alert issued just before 6:30 p.m. Friday said fires are "becoming increasingly unpredictable" and have jumped fire guards, moving closer to populated areas.
A statement posted to the Yellowhead County Facebook page Friday says fires south of Edson and in the Shiningbank area have shown "extreme behaviour" and that numerous new fires have recently flared up in the area.
About 11,000 people live in Yellowhead County, including 8,000 residents in Edson. The town is approximately 200 kilometres west of Edmonton.
Just after 8 p.m. Friday, another evacuation order was issued for part of the Municipal District of Greenview, due to a different fire threatening the Sweathouse area about 150 kilometres east of Grande Prairie.
Hayley Waites drove out of Edson with her kids Friday evening alongside what she described as a "massive convoy of people" leaving town.
"I'm overwhelmed," she said.
"When you're panicking to get everything going, you're just thinking about saving yourself. But the moment you drive away, you think, 'What if my home isn't there when I get back?'"
Evacuees are being asked to go to the reception centre at the Edmonton Expo Centre. The evacuation centre was closed last month after evacuation orders were lifted for communities using the resource.
Gerry Clarke, emergency support response team co-ordinator at the City of Edmonton, said crews were preparing to re-open the reception centre hours ahead of the evacuation order. Before evacuees arrived Friday, workers were setting up a registration area, and getting food and cots ready for an influx of people.
"You can never let your guard down, especially the smaller communities ... A wildfire can change with the wind. It's mother nature at her worst, I guess," Clarke said.
"And you should always be prepared, come summer time, something like this might happen."
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