More communities in northern Alberta evacuating due to wildfire

Garden River residents have been evacuated since July 10.

Little Red River Cree Nation is in a local state of emergency and wildfire growth on Friday saw wildfires move towards Highway 58.

The Semo Complex, made up of seven out of control wildfires, is estimated to be over 182,000 hectares in size and classified as out of control. One of the wildfires now approximately 2.2 km from Highway 58 and 13 km northwest of Garden River.

An Incident Management Team is in place on the Semo Complex, and response efforts are being aided by firefighters from Alaska, Ontario, P.E.I., and New Brunswick.

People in the region may see falling ash and it is likely that, if the current smoky conditions clear up, smoke columns may be visible Sunday as hot and dry conditions persist.

As of July 20, there are over 1,800 personnel, 156 helicopters, and 21 aircraft responding to fires across the province. Additional crews of more than 240 firefighters and supports staff, as well as three airtankers, from other jurisdictions are in Alberta to help with wildfire response and suppresion efforts.

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by Erika Rolling

More communities in northern Alberta evacuating due to wildfire

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