Northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan evacuated with military airlift as out of control fire rages

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Residents of a remote community in Northern Alberta, accessible only by boat or plane, have been airlifted to safety as an “out of control” wildfire burns at its perimeter.

An evacuation order went into effect for Fort Chipewyan, a hamlet with a population of about 800 people, on Tuesday and includes the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. The wildfire, about 86-square-kilometres in size, is a short distance from the local airport.

Chief Allan Adam, of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, said the majority of residents have been evacuated but about 300 people remain. He expects 200 or more will stay behind to help battle the blazes. Essential services remain open, including a grocery store and gas station, but he said “that all could change at a moment’s notice.”

He said planes from private carriers, in addition to the Hercules of the Canadian Armed Forces, were flying in and out of the community over the last few days but the last large flight was leaving at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. “Then we will be down to fixed wings with nine-passenger seaters and stuff like that,” said Mr. Adam, who remains in the community.

“If I walk outside the building, I can see the smoke, columns of smoke that’s raging out of control. They are fighting it with water bombers and helicopters. There’s no men on the ground because of the terrain,” he said. “Right now, we’re praying for rain.”

Wildfires rage in Nova Scotia and Alberta, pushing hundreds to evacuate

Another 65 people left by boat down the Athabasca River, travelling between four and six hours, to reach Fort McKay. The boaters were monitored by safety boats from Fort McKay carrying extra fuel, water and food, and met at the end by volunteers who prepared hot meals and cold drinks. Some had to bivouac overnight when smoke and darkness made travel too dangerous.

Mr. Adam said residents are feeling frustrated, confused and scared. “You don’t know if you’re coming back,” he said.

Fort Chipewyan has faced a difficult season. In February, the Indigenous community was informed that water tainted with dangerous levels of arsenic, dissolved metals and hydrocarbons was seeping from tailings at the Kearl oil sands into their waterways. The community has also suffered a series of suicides and suicide attempts in recent months.

“You take it day by day,” said Mr. Adam.

The Canadian military evacuated 116 residents to Fort McMurray, about 300 kilometres south, on Tuesday evening using a military transport aircraft. The evacuation has been handled in stages and started with Allison Bay, home to about 125 people and closest to the wildfire. Vulnerable and elderly people are being prioritized.

Alberta continues to be under a state of emergency, with fires burning in central and northern parts of the province. There were 61 active blazes on Wednesday afternoon, with 16 considered out of control. More than 4,400 people are displaced under evacuation orders.

Josee St-Onge, spokesperson for Alberta Wildfire, said during a news conference on Wednesday that 563 wildfires recorded so far this season have scorched more than 1,100,000 hectares of land.

“We continue to see increased wildfire activity in the areas of the province that have not received significant rain. That is the case in the Fort Chipewyan area,” said Ms. St-Onge. “The wildfire located north of the community continues to be our top priority today.”

About 2,600 people are fighting the wildfires, which includes firefighters and other responders from across Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the Canadian military.

There are also wildfires burning in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

In the Northwest Territories, an evacuation order is in effect for Sambaa K’e, previously known as Trout Lake, where nearly 100 people live just north of the Alberta boundary. A 980-square-kilometre fire across both the province and the territory is burning just 30 kilometres from the community.

Meanwhile, in the Halifax area, firefighters are battling a growing blaze that has destroyed 150 homes. The wildfire covers about 837 hectares in the wooded suburban communities west of the city and the situation is expected to worsen.

With a report from The Canadian Press