The small, northern Alberta community of Chipewyan Lake likely lost more than two dozen structures, including a water treatment plant, a church, a seniors drop-in centre, a health centre and homes, after a wildfire swept through the area last week, according to a local leader. No fatalities have been reported in connection with the fire.
Marcel Auger, the reeve of the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17, spoke to Global News about what he and other local leaders saw when they were given the chance to fly over the evacuated community and survey the damage.
A preliminary assessment found the school is likely intact but that 27 structures have been lost. Auger said he hopes to have a more official assessment of the damage early this week.
“That fire came in so fast,” Auger said, saying he has learned more details about the fire’s size and ferocity from speaking with local emergency officials. “It was over 100 km/h winds.
“It was so extreme with the heat. … The fire was so large that it actually created its own storm system.”
Auger said about 100 people live in Lake Chipewyan, located about 450 kilometres north of Edmonton. The community’s wildfire evacuees are mostly now sheltering in the community of Wabasca.
Late Thursday, some firefighters in the Lake Chipewyan area lost radio contact and took shelter in the community’s school and local fire hall. Crews were able to get the stranded firefighters out, although smoke from the fire presented a challenge.
Auger said his brother-in-law was one of the firefighters who lost radio contact.
“(I got) a sense of the real danger and how fortunate we really are the we didn’t have a loss of life,” he said.
At about 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, officials posted an update on the wildfire dubbed the Red Earth East Complex on the M.D. of Opportunity’s Facebook page, saying at last report the situation had seen “low fire behaviour and minimal growth on all fires.”
“The region experienced some rain, and the forecast is again cooler temperatures with a chance of more rain. This will allow for favourable firefighting conditions.”
Officials said at last report, the wildfire that impacted Chipewyan Lake was 132,167 hectares in size and still burning out of control.
“A wildland urban interface crew has been deployed to access the community,” the Alberta government said in a wildfire update on Sunday.
The community of Red Earth Creek also remained under an evacuation order as of Sunday night.
–with files from Global News’ Heather Yourex-West
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