Alberta wildfires prompt more evacuations, Edmonton offers masks for smoke

Wildfires in northern Alberta forced more people from their homes on Saturday while Edmonton offered masks to residents to help them deal with all the smoke.
Little Red River Cree Nation had already issued an evacuation alert for the communities of John D’Or Prairie and Fox Lake on Friday, but upgraded that to an evacuation order on Saturday and said in a statement that everyone in those communities must be out by 10 p.m.
The statement from the First Nation says the communities remain safe, and that residents should stay calm and make their way out safely.
Residents of Chipewyan Lake, meanwhile, were ordered to leave Thursday due to a separate fire which threatened the only route in and out of the community.
Special statements from Environment and Climate Change Canada on Saturday warned of very poor air quality for some areas, including Edmonton and Fort McMurray, due to wildfire smoke.
Edmonton took the step of activating its extreme weather response for poor air quality, saying it would distribute N95 masks at city facilities that are open this weekend, such as pools or recreation centres.
“This extreme weather response for poor air quality is in addition to the City’s extreme heat response due to sustained high temperatures,” the city said in a news release on Saturday.
Heat warnings remained in effect for much of the Prairies on the weekend, and the temperature in Edmonton on Saturday afternoon was 29 C.
Edmonton’s KDays festival, which started Friday and runs until July 28, posted on Facebook that operations on the fairgrounds would continue as usual but guests were encouraged “to assess personal risk to determine entry and activity on site.”
The post noted people could beat the heat and smoke inside the Edmonton EXPO Centre.
The provincial government said the fire danger is very high to extreme across most of the province due to hot, dry and windy conditions.
Residents of Garden River, a settlement that’s part of the Little Red River Cree Nation, also remain out of their homes after they were ordered to evacuate earlier this month.
An evacuation alert for the hamlet of Janvier and the Janvier 194 community of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation remained in effect on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2024.