An out-of-control wildfire 19 km west of Nordegg forced the evacuation of residents and visitors on Wednesday.
The fire in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area had grown to 366 hectares, and the cause of the fire was under investigation.
Travis Fairweather, wildfire information officer with the province, said the fire had not grown that much on Thursday, which was a good sign, and the possibility of rain on Friday and Saturday was promising.
But he said it will still take several weeks before it’s extinguished, and the fire is already interfering with people’s camping plans.
“It definitely impacts a lot of people, even though based on size or activity, it’s probably not one of our bigger fires,” Fairweather said.
The fire was discovered on Tuesday and initially responded well to firefighting efforts. But increased temperatures, low relative humidity, and winds on Wednesday caused firefighting efforts to be less effective.
A fire advisory was issued for the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area to warn people to use extreme caution outdoors due to the dry conditions. The wildfire danger level for the area was listed as very high.
Four air tankers, and 30 firefighters with support from three helicopters, were tackling the fire, and more resources were en route.
“It’s mostly been the air craft, air tankers and helicopters working on it, just because it is a little bit tricky for access. It’s difficult to get the firefighters in on the ground there.”
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On Wednesday, Clearwater County issued a mandatory evacuation order for Snow Creek, Dry Haven, Fish Lake, and Goldeye Lake provincial recreation areas, Frontier Lodge, and Centre for Outdoor Education.
A Clearwater County information officer said the order mostly affected campers. No homes were evacuated.
Evacuees with holiday trailers or campers were told they could relocate to the North Saskatchewan River Park in Rocky Mountain House.
A two-hour evacuation alert was also issued for the hamlet of Nordegg (north and south subdivisions) in order for residents and visitors in the area to be prepared to leave within two hours of being notified.
The information officer said Thursday morning the sky was a little hazy in Nordegg due to the wildfire smoke, and the county was going door-to-door to notify people of the evacuation alert.
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The fire advisory meant that the those in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area could continue to use fire pits, charcoal briquettes on a barbecue, safe campfires and recreational off-highway vehicles.
People were encouraged to download the Alberta Wildfire App.
Since Jan. 1, there have been 39 wildfires in the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area which have burned 366.5 hectares.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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