The Town of Edson and surrounding area are still currently under an evacuation order.
However, the Town of Edson and Yellowhead County continue to make plans for re-entry for residents when it is deemed safe. Municipal officials say this will only be done when it is considered safe for re-entry as there are many considerations to plan for, as many day-to-day services will not be immediately available, as well as emergency health services, fuel and gas to homes and businesses.
The Town of Edson says it is working on a plan to accommodate pet owners and the possibility of assisting residents in rescuing any pets left behind. More details are expected on Wednesday.
Alberta Wildfire says it plans to continue working through the night, taking advantage of cooler temperatures and higher humidity.
Officials say fire crews continue to make progress on fighting fires, creating fire guards, and putting out hotspots. However, even with cooler temperatures, the fires remain out-of-control and are still close to rural homes, roads and highways, and several communities, including the Town of Edson.
There are over 250 municipal firefighters from Yellowhead County, the Town of Edson, and other municipal fire departments from across Alberta. This is in addition to the over 400 firefighters with Alberta Wildfire.
As part of this number, officials note 101 structure protection personnel from the Town of Edson and Yellowhead County that have integrated with the Pembina Fire Complex as a structure protection branch to allow for seamless coordination between Alberta Wildfire and the County.
Wildfire EWF031:
This fire is comprised of three fingers that are impacting Edson and Yellowhead County.
EWF031 was detected on May 4 and is located 18 km west of Lodgepole, 5 km northwest of Brazeau Dam and 1.5 km south of Edson. The fire is classified as out of control and is estimated to be 204,284 ha in size.
Willmore Park Finger:
This area of the fire is approximately 1.5 km south of Edson.
On Friday, June 9, this finger of the fire progressed 18 km in the northwest direction. Late in the evening, the fire spotted across McLeod River and into Willmore Park. Alberta Wildfire crews are continuing to work with Yellowhead County and the Town of Edson to patrol and set up structure protection as required ahead of the fire in this area. Fire that grew north of the McLeod River covers an area of approximately 250 hectares. Crews continued to work in this area on Tuesday to ensure 100 per cent extinguishment.
Fickle Lake Finger:
This area of the fire is approximately 2.5 km east of Fickle Lake and approximately 5 km south of Marlboro.
Through the day and into the evening of Friday, June 9, officials say this area of the finger grew in the northwest direction, crossing Sundance Road and then progressing across Highway 47.
Crews are continuing to work along both Highway 16 and Highway 47 corridors to protect values adjacent to the fire. This includes the protection of power poles and working with local industry to ensure critical infrastructure is maintained.
Carrot Creek Area:
This area of the fire is approximately 6 km south of Highway 16 and approximately 10 km southwest of Carrot Creek.
A heavy equipment group has completed a guard west of Penn West Road to establish a control line in anticipation for planned ignition operations along the east flank, north of Kwaz Road. Planned ignition operations in this area will only take place should conditions be favourable over the coming days, officials point out.
This fire also grew significantly on Tuesday on the southeast part of the fire near Cynthia.
EWF035:
The northern portion of the fire is located 2 km east of Shining Bank Lake, reaching north and east across Township Road 560 and as far south as approximately 2 km north of the Niton Junction railway.
The wildfire is south of Township Road 570, has burnt down to the south and continues to a site two kilometers north of the railroad track in Niton Junction. Officials say the fire moved across the Range Road 123 and burnt up to the Lobstick River.
To get more detailed information on this fire and all the fires in Yellowhead County, as well as photos, visit srd.web.alberta.ca/edson-area-update
Yellowhead County’s next live update on Facebook is June 14, 2023 at noon.
