Residents excited to return home following evacuation order and alerts lifted in northeastern Alberta

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Meredith Stanfield was hoping she would be allowed into her neighborhood Saturday morning to pick up a phone charger and a few days’ worth of kitty litter for her three pet felines.

Stanfield lives in Prairie Creek, one of four neighborhoods in Fort McMurray, Alta., that were affected by an evacuation order due to a nearby wildfire. She was one of thousands of 6,600 residents forced to flee on Tuesday.

When she reached the perimeter, a law enforcement official informed her that she could return home permanently.

“I’m really excited now,” said Stanfield, who has been staying at the Pomeroy Hotel in Fort McMurray since the order was issued Tuesday.

“I can’t wait to turn around, get all my stuff and my cats and go home.”

Meredith Stanfield, a Fort McMurray, Alta., resident forced to evacuate due to a nearby wildfire, was pleasantly surprised to learn she could return home Saturday. (CBC)

A wildfire, burning about 5.5 kilometers southwest of Fort McMurray, has grown to approximately 19,500 hectares since it broke out on May 9.

The fire triggered an evacuation alert more than a week ago, affecting Anzac, Draper, Fort McMurray, Fort McMurray First Nation, Gregoire Lake, Saprae Creek Estates and Rickards Landing Industrial Park. The alert forced people to prepare to leave at short notice, but some residents, with memories of the 2016 wildfire, left preemptively.

On Tuesday, the regional municipality declared a local state of emergency. An evacuation order issued that day for four Fort McMurray neighborhoods – Prairie Creek, Beacon Hill, Abasand and Grayling Terrace – forced about 6,600 people to flee their homes.

The fire is still considered out of control. But on Saturday morning, emergency services and government officials expressed gratitude to firefighters and recent — and forecast — weather conditions that have thwarted the local fire risk enough to lift all emergency alerts.

“If you’ve never had the opportunity to see the fire chief dancing in the rain, you missed your opportunity early this morning,” Regional Fire Chief Jody Butz said during the fire update forest on Saturday.

Alberta Wildfire and municipal officials decided to lift the evacuation order and emergency alerts for several reasons, according to a press release issued Saturday by the municipality.

Recent rains and cool temperatures have calmed the wildfire and firefighters have been able to make “significant progress” in containing the northeast boundary. Crews were also able to complete construction of fire guards in this area, as well as in Fort McMurray, which will help prevent the fire from encroaching on the community, its landfill and Highway 63, the main thoroughfare of the city, the press release said.

About 20 millimeters of rain recently fell on the wildfire, including about 10 millimeters on Friday, leading to a decrease in fire activity on Saturday, said Josée St-Onge, public information officer for the wildfires. forest fires in Alberta.

Protection of structures is still in place and firefighters have completed spraying fire retardants in forested areas bordering the neighborhoods affected by the evacuation order, the press release said.

During Saturday’s wildfire update, Mayor Sandy Bowman beamed as she said the situation was safe enough for all citizens to return home.

Mayor Sandy Bowman announced Saturday morning that all emergency alerts for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo have been lifted. (Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo)

“We will be very happy to see you and we will thank you for your determination, your patience and your strength,” he said, addressing the evacuees. “Welcome – and travel safely.”

Lindsay Paddick, with her children and two pets in the vehicle, is among those eager to get home.

She and her family, who live in Beacon Hill, spent the last few days camping at Wandering River, about 180 kilometers south of Fort McMurray. They were on their way to Fort McMurray on Saturday to shower and pick up clean clothes when they heard on the radio that the evacuation order had been lifted.

“The timing was just perfect,” she said.

Lindsay Paddick, who lives on Beacon Hill in Fort McMurray, Alta., was among many residents eager to return home on Saturday. (CBC)

As of Thursday, nearly 2,600 evacuees and 380 pets were registered in reception centers in Lac La Biche, Cold Lake and Edmonton, according to the municipality.

Plans are in place to return these evacuees home, Bowman said, adding that social services and emergency supports will be available to them until midday Sunday.

Not out of the woods yet

However, officials were careful not to get carried away by Saturday’s encouraging atmosphere.

The wildfire is still not out, Bowman said, warning that the local fire situation could change over the summer.

A ban on burning in the area is still in effect.

In its press release, the municipality urged people not to travel into the forest near the wildfire, nor to fly drones in the area, as crews are still working on the fire, which could take “several weeks” to be brought under control.

“We have to give them the space they need,” Chief Butz said.

Alberta Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen assured that the provincial government will send all necessary resources to contain this forest fire and, eventually, bring it under control.

“It’s going to take time…it’s a big wildfire; the terrain it’s in is going to be difficult to manage,” Loewen said Saturday. But thanks to firefighting efforts, “we’re able to take advantage of this climate change” and bring people home.

All Fort McMurray schools will be open Tuesday, after the long weekend, according to a joint release from the city’s three school boards.

According to Alberta Wildfire, there were a total of 48 active wildfires in Alberta as of 3 p.m. MT on Saturday, including seven self-help fires. The mutual aid designation means Alberta Wildfire is assisting in firefighting, but is not the lead agency.

The fire near Fort McMurray is the only one still deemed out of control, but an evacuation alert for Grande Prairie County is still in effect due to fire in the area.