Wildfire forces two-day evacuation

After 52 hours of worrying that their homes may be consumed by a man-initiated wildfire, the majority of residents of Bigstone Cree Nation and the hamlet of Wabasca, in the Municipal District of Opportunity, were given the all clear to return on the evening of May 26.

The 117 people in Reserve C had to wait until the following morning so hoses and pipes could be cleared from the road. For Reserve C residents, the worry started sooner as they were evacuated as a precautionary measure on the afternoon of May 23 when the fire began near North Wabasca Lake. They were allowed back into their homes in the evening as the fire was being held. However, they were on 30-minute evacuation notice.

Councils for both BCN and the MD issued mandatory evacuation orders at 2 p.m. on May 24 based on the recommendations of the provincial forest fire centre and regional forest fire experts. Four hours later the MD declared a local state of emergency. The local state of emergency remained even after the evacuation orders were lifted.

MD Councillor Dwayne Calliou said the SOL would remain in place until the bulk of the nearly 1,800 residents from the hamlet returned home. The SOL also protects against price gouging as  prices for goods and services are fixed.

On May 27, both the MD and BCN were coordinating the transportation of their residents from reception centres in Calling Lake and Athabasca. Both reception centres, which included support from Alberta Health Services, social services, Red Cross and the Salvation Army, remained open on May 27, with meals served all day. Some of the elderly, those with small children, and those who required medical attention were temporarily housed in Westlock, Edmonton and St. Albert. Between the hamlet and BCN, approximately 5,000 people were displaced.

The decision was made to lift the evacuation order after the fire, which was 10 km from the hamlet of Wabasca, was held in place for two days. In the last 24 hours, there was no significant growth in the fire.

Geoff Driscoll, provincial wildfire information officer, credits the firefighters for making the difference.

“It was through their sheer hard work because they didn’t get much help from Mother Nature,” he said.

There was a sprinkling of rain on May 25.

Wabasca and BCN firefighters were joined by other volunteer fire departments as well as fire crews from Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, helicopters and airtankers. A sprinkler system was set up throughout Wabasca to add much needed moisture to the air. Driscoll said bulldozers were used to dig fireguards, but the warm, dry weather permitted the fire to jump the line initially. Larger fireguards, equalling five dozer lengths in width, were then dug on the south, west and east, joining a water drainage ditch in the north, and those, combined with the water dumps, resulted in the fire being contained.

At the time the evacuation orders were lifted, Driscoll said the Wabasca fire, which burned 208 hectares but no structures, was deemed as “being held.” It was not yet considered under control.

“For it to be under control, a fire has to have no or very little chance that it’s going to get any bigger,” he said.

Scott Long, executive director of operations of Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said residents returning to BCN and the MD have been advised to listen to emergency notifications and be prepared to leave immediately.

“The key, based on the assessment of the experts on the ground, is that the actual extensive fireguards they have in place, unless there is a significant and drastic change in weather, it is anticipated that that fire will not be able to cross those fireguards,” said Long.

On the afternoon of May 27 a light shower fell and the temperature dropped.

There are 61 wildfire fighters on location in Wabasca continuing to work on hotspots and monitoring the situation.

“Every day is a better day,” said Calliou. “My people are coming home.”

The cause of the Wabasca fire is under investigation.

As of noon on May 27, there were 63 fires burning in Alberta, 15 of them out of control, including on the Cold Lake air weapons range, where over 17,500 hectares have burned and oil and gas facilities operated by Cenovus and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. have been shut in by the operators and 2,000 workers evacuated.

As of May 27, a fire ban province-wide remained in effect.