Flooding follows fire in central Alberta as wildfire evacuees prepare to return home in the north
CBC
Heavy rainfall across central and western Alberta has been a mixed blessing as more wildfire evacuees are preparing to return home.
The downpour follows one of the hottest Mays on record for Canada as wildfires spread throughout a dry Alberta. After a short reprieve, early June saw wildfires again tearing through forest regions.
Among the communities evacuated were Edson and Yellowhead County in central Alberta — for the second time this season — and Fort Chipewyan, about 730 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
The evacuation order for Fort Chipewyan will soon be lifted. Evacuation orders for Edson and Yellowhead County were lifted late last week.
But Edson, 200 kilometres west of Edmonton, is now dealing with flooding. It declared a state of local emergency Monday.
Mayor Kevin Zahara said in an online video update around noon that Edson will be in contact with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency and will ask for assistance from neighbouring municipalities.
Pumps are being set up on at least one overflowing street and there is localized flooding in various neighbourhoods, Zahara said.
Thirteen properties have reported flooding so far and internet and phone lines are down. The fire south of Edson remains out of control but has received around 84 millimetres of rainfall within a span of hours — an amount more typically seen over a period of a month, he said.
"No town infrastructure, city infrastructure can handle that much water in that amount of time," he said.
A visibly emotional Zahara ended the update by reiterating how difficult the last weeks have been.
"Today is hard to watch. To see people struggling with their homes. But I'm incredibly proud of our staff here at the town of Edson and all of our emergency responders."
An emergency alert for flash flooding was issued for all of Yellowhead County on Monday afternoon and an evacuation order for the Lower Robb area was issued around 6 p.m.
Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning for western and central Alberta.
In Alberta's mountain parks, a snowfall warning is in place for Highway 93.
The City of Charlottetown is attempting to mend its relationship with Elections P.E.I.
The owner of a Hamilton restaurant says he "can't be more thankful" to the community for the response he received after an incident that police say they are investigating as a hate crime.
It was Windsor's Ward 10 councillor who gave his constituents the "Please Slow Down" sign sitting on the law outside the home where a woman died this week after a driver crashed through the building. Now, Coun. Jim Morrison says he's going to look into new traffic calming measures for the area.
When new immigrants arrive in Calgary without strong English, they often look for clearing jobs or warehouse work. But with unemployment rates among newcomers soaring, even these entry-level jobs are in short supply.
Laura Petit moved into her current rental in Thunder Bay, Ont., because she wanted to live somewhere quiet and accessible while recovering from open-heart surgery.
Before tiny French bulldog Clementine was brought to the Toronto Humane Society, she was found abandoned and bleeding inside a chip box in a park.
Canada's premiers are meeting virtually Wednesday with the prime minister to discuss the threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he hopes to talk about the country's approach to negotiations.
A man from Pelly Crossing, Yukon, wants the Whitehorse General Hospital to do better when discharging rural patients who arrive by medevac.
A prominent Canadian novelist is speaking out after a local high school teacher was ordered to stop teaching one of his award-winning novels in class because of its use of the N-word.
A 29-year-old Canadian woman is facing charges in New Zealand after customs authorities say she was caught with 10.2 kilograms of methamphetamine inside her carry-on baggage at an Auckland airport, with the contraband wrapped as if it belonged under a Christmas tree.
A day after a judicial recount confirmed the loss of his seat and two weeks after his party was nearly wiped out in the provincial election, Liberal Leader Zach Churchill has stepped down from the helm of the party.