Crews fireproof Edson homes as wildfire remains ‘on our doorstep’

Officials in Edson say firefighters were going door-to-door Sunday to help fireproof homes in the community, which is threatened by a nearby forest fire.

They mayor and chief administrative officer say crews were moving flammable items such as propane tanks, barbecues, wood piles and even plants away from houses and other structures.

Edson CAO Christine Beveridge says residents, who may have spotted the activity on doorbell cameras, have questioned why crews were doing so.

“It matters when it comes to protecting your home. Anything we can do that allows for protection of your home is what we are doing. So we hope you understand that that’s happening,” Beveridge said Sunday in a fire update live on Facebook.

Crews were also putting sprinkler systems on at-risk homes in the western Alberta communities of Yellowhead County.

“We’ve acquired a significant amount of sprinkler systems from outside our region,” said Luc Mercier, the chief operating officer of Yellowhead County. “They are doing that as fast as they can, prioritizing the areas that are a little more susceptible than others.”

Wildfires grew, but are not closer to homes

Wildfires threatening the area continued to grow overnight into Sunday but got no closer to evacuated communities.

That includes the town of Edson, where about 8,400 people were ordered to leave late Friday. A massive fire is roughly 1.5 kilometres south of Edson’s boundary. Beveridge says the blaze grew 73,000 hectares from Friday; it’s now 204,000 hectares and still categorized as out of control.

“Organized flame fronts with fire burning into the tree canopies has resulted in substantial growth and mid-range spot fires ahead of the main fire front. Yesterday, overhead smoke and lighter winds tampered fire behaviour in some areas of the fire,” Alberta Wildfire said in a news release.

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Residents have expressed safety concerns given Edson homes are empty. Officials say firefighters – when not tackling blazes – peace officers and members of the RCMP are doing regular patrols.

Despite the appearance of a lull in the severity of the blazes, the evacuation orders for Edson and parts of Yellowhead County will stand.

“These fires are on our doorstep and they will have the ability to be a significant danger in a matter of minutes,” said Mercier, explaining the situation can change rapidly.

Part of the reason for keeping the evacuation order is because a fire is close to Highway 16, which would prevent residents from evacuating if the blaze flared up.

“The north edge of the fire has grown beyond McLeod River and is continuing to grow in the direction of Highway 16,” Alberta Wildfire said in a news release. “Wildland firefighters and structural firefighters will continue to work along the Highway 16 and Highway 47 corridors to protect values adjacent to the fire.”

Edson is about 200 kilometres west of Edmonton.

WATCH: Evacuation order for Edson, parts of Yellowhead County

There was minimal precipitation overnight, and temperatures are rising.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” added Yellowhead County Mayor Wade Williams.

The county faced evacuations due to another wildfire last month, with residents leaving their homes for three days.

Mercier says fire activity had calmed down enough for officials on Wednesday to consider closing their emergency control centre. But by Friday, he says that idea went out the door.

International crews helping 

Firefighting crews have been brought in from all over the world to help.

Friday, Australian firefighters began their work in Yellowhead County. On Saturday, a hot shot crew arrived from the United States, specifically trained in helicopter and air tanker use.

More help is expected to arrive this coming week.

“We have additional resources coming from out of province and internationally to help us in this battle,” said Alberta Wildfire’s Melissa Story. “This is an unprecedented season for us. We’ve burned over 1 million, 350 thousand hectares so far this year. It is incredibly large, it is 10 times our 5 year average.”

Story says the overall situation remains dire, and months of work still lie ahead.

“We’re only in June,” she said. “Wildfire season goes until Oct. 31. So we have to be prepared for the long haul on this one.”

—With files from Bianca Millions and The Canadian Press