Alberta wildfires: government ending provincial state of emergency

Alberta is ending its provincial state of emergency Saturday night as the wildfire situation continued to improve in the province.

Alberta says the “extraordinary powers” were no longer required, despite the wildfire threat remaining in the northern parts of the province.

The state of emergency, introduced May 6, gave the government greater power to access emergency funds and mobilize additional support. It will expire Saturday at 11:59 p.m., and the provincial emergency coordination centre will move to a level three.

“Overall, wildfire situation has improved, and it’s improved significantly,” Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis said during Saturday’s wildfire update. “And we anticipate that it will continue to improve. That is why the government will not be continuing the provincial state of emergency.”

Ellis says “resourcing and support remains in place” even with the end of the state of emergency.

“We continue to ensure we have the firefighting resources we need for the rest of the firefighting season,” he said. “And we continue to support Albertans who have been evacuated in communities that have been affected, including the Fort Chipewyan area.

“No community will be left behind.”

Fort Chipewyan wildfire 

The province says the fire in the Fort Chipewyan area, where an evacuation order remains in effect, continues to be a “top priority.”

Alberta Wildfire says that fire picked up in intensity Friday evening, with crews working to prevent spread toward the community. The wildfire was seven kilometres from the community, as of Saturday afternoon.

Rain is expected there in the coming days.

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Ellis says more than 38,000 Albertans have been evacuated over the past month, with roughly 4,330 of them still evacuated to date.

The minister added the province does not envision needing to introduce another state of emergency, but said it was prepared to do so if the situation worsened.

The Alberta Emergency Management Agency credited rain and cooler temperatures on the lowering of the wildfire risk.

There were 58 actives wildfires in Alberta as of Saturday afternoon, including 15 classified as out of control.

There have been 563 wildfires in the province this year – 305 were caused by people, and 72 were caused by lightning, Alberta Wildfire says. The remainder are still under investigation.

“It’s been almost 40 years since we’ve had a season like this one,” said Alberta Wildfire’s Christie Tucker.