Alberta asks for Canadian military help as wildfire danger spikes
Posted July 24, 2024 9:16 am.
Last Updated July 24, 2024 10:15 pm.
Alberta is asking for help from the Canadian military as the province’s wildfire situation continues to worsen.
The province says it has asked for support on firefighting and wildfire mitigation resources to “reduce the risk to homes, businesses, critical infrastructure and communities.”
Alberta’s public safety minister Mike Ellis says he spoke with federal counterparts on Wednesday about how current wildfires are impacting Albertans.
“I have requested assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces to ensure all resources are brought to bear on this situation,” reads on online post from Ellis.
The federal emergency preparedness minister acknowledged receiving Alberta’s request and says the federal government will offer whatever assistance is required.
“We will make all necessary resources available to support firefighting, evacuation, and logistical support as we fight wildfires threatening communities in Alberta,” reads the statement from Harjit Sajjan posted on X.
The requests comes as crews battle fires in Jasper that have forced the evacuation of thousands. Multiple structure fires were reported late Wednesday as the flames from one of the fires reached the townsite.
Provincial data shows that the fire danger in Alberta right now is extreme, with 177 fires currently burning, 59 of which are completely out of control.
One of those fires is roughly 25 kilometres west of Water Valley, northwest of Calgary. The wildfire is currently estimated to be 85 hectares in size.
Officials believe this blaze was caused by lightning, and has led to road closures in and around Sundre, as well as some evacuations in the area.
WATCH: Evacuation order issued for Municipal District of Bighorn
Other fires continue to burn throughout the province, including the massive one in Jasper which has burned over 6,700 hectares so far.
Over 25,000 people, including residents and visitors in the region have left following evacuation orders, while a few dozen have chosen to stick around.
“It’s a dynamic situation and we’re still working through all the details,” said Parks Canada Incident Commander Katie Ellsworth
Joe Gentile, his wife, and 16-year-old son were among those whose holiday plans were interrupted by the fire in Jasper.
“We’re doing fine, we’re just Calgarians on holiday so we’re fine,” he told CityNews. “Our friends in Jasper are a little bit more worried than we are.”
It was a trip to celebrate the couple’s 19th wedding anniversary, but just hours after the family arrived in Jasper, everything quickly changed.
“The smoke was very thick, your eyes are sore, your throat is sore, ash was falling. So, it was pretty obvious that the fires were really close,” Gentile said. “Certainly didn’t expect that to happen, I feel bad for the residents there, it’s probably some worrisome times.
Gentile and his family were eventually able to evacuate to Hinton despite being stuck in a gridlock of vehicles.
Jasper National Park residents and visitors evacuating the fire are asked to head to one of three evacuation centres: Shouldice Arena in Calgary at 1515 Home Road NW, the Kennedale Site in Edmonton at 12814 58 Street, or the Bonnetts Energy Centre in Grande Prairie at 10017 99 Avenue,
Premier Danielle Smith says different levels of government are working together to address the situation.
“If the worst case scenario happens, they’ll be in real trouble in a few days but we’re going to do whatever we can to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Smith said. “We’ve put an active reach out to Parks Canada — remember this is a federal park, this is federal jurisdiction, so we have to wait for them to invite us in. We have put our hand out and said, ‘We are happy to be here.’ We’ve staged equipment to Hinton, we told them we’re prepared to help them whichever way they need us to, and they’re taking us up on that offer.”
Ellsworth says despite the Jasper wildfire spreading, critical infrastructure remains intact.
“In terms of infrastructure damage and critical infrastructure — at this time, no critical infrastructure has been damaged or impinged within Jasper National Park or the community of Jasper,” she said.
Stay with CityNews660 for the very latest on the province’s wildfire situation.
