Editors Note: This story was updated to accurately reflect the crews assisting in the wildfire response.
ATHABASCA — Boyle and Athabasca County officials are asking locals to stay away and give crews space and time to continue fighting the wildfire threatening the village from the south.
In a 1 p.m. press conference at the Athabasca County administrative office, Boyle Mayor Colin Derko and Athabasca County Reeve Tracy Holland gave a brief update on the evacuation. No new information on the fire was available, but the blaze has not yet reached the village and crews from across the province continue to respond.
At 10:49pm Tuesday, May 7, residents of Boyle and the surrounding rural areas south of the municipality were given orders to evacuate to Lac La Biche after spending seven hours on alert to leave on short notice.
Derko said 175 evacuees from Boyle registered at the check-in centre at Parkland II Motels, and more have fled to surrounding communities such as Athabasca and Edmonton. The Mayor also issued a warning for locals curious about the fire, or hoping to retrieve more items or pets from their homes.
“We ask that people please stay away from the area and give the volunteers and the firefighters all of the space they need. We don’t want to be chasing people coming in for unforeseen reasons; phone the village office, phone the RCMP.”
The Village Office can be reached at 780-689-3643, and the Boyle RCMP can be reached at (780) 689-4081.
Holland noted 1,000 hectares of land south of the village has been affected so far, mainly comprised of forest and marshland. No information on potential property damage to rural residences in the area is available as of yet.
Firefighting crews from Boyle, Athabasca County, the Town of Athabasca, Lac La Biche, Strathmore, Slave Lake, and Penhold are on scene responding to the blaze, as well as private contractors working with the county.
The heavily-forested and boggy terrain have been the biggest challenges for the crews, as well as the wind, gusting between 20 and 40 kilometres per hour in the area, according to Environment Canada.
Many offers of support from local organizations, individuals, and contractors have been made on social media and directly to the county, support which Holland said is no surprise in a small town.
“As you know, we live in a small community and everybody is friends, everybody is neighbours, so everybody stands together and they come together really quickly. They offer homes, they’re offering pasture, they’re offering anything for livestock, horses, all of these things.”
“It’s been an amazing outpouring of support,” she said.
More information and updates on the fire are expected throughout the day through Alertable and Voyent Alert systems.
Timeline of events
Just before 4 p.m., May 6, Boyle notified residents of a wildfire south of town along Highway 831 between the Boyle fish pond and Ellscott turnoff. The critical alert turned into an evacuation alert, and a state of local emergency was issued at 6 p.m.
Residents of the village and the rural areas south of Boyle were asked to be prepared to leave their homes for 72 hours, and be on standby to evacuate as needed. RCMP and Alberta Sheriff’s officers knocked on all doors to notify residents of the orders to ensure no locals missed the announcements.
Seniors at the Wild Rose Villa evacuated of their own accord and made their way to Athabasca out of precaution.
Crews used TWP Road 644 as the trigger point for evacuation, and at 10:49 p.m. May 6, locals were given word to leave the area. Buses were provided for transportation, and anyone in need of a ride to the bus was picked up.
Derko said the temporary rolling closure of the hospital, a sticking point of the community for nearly three years, was a positive during the evacuation, noting no patient transfers made the process easier.
— With files from Cole Brennan
