EDMONTON – Residents of Garden River who have been evacuated for seven days or more can now start applying for one-time emergency evacuation payments. Increased fire danger and activity have led to 47 new wildfire starts in the past 24 hours and there are currently 128 active wildfires burning in Alberta.
Alberta Emergency Alerts
- As of July 17, at 2 p.m., there are no new emergency alerts.
- Little Red River Cree Nation’s State of Local Emergency, declared via Band Council Resolution on July 10, remains in effect.
- The response continues to be led by Little Red River Cree Nation with Alberta Emergency Management Agency First Nations field officers providing support.
- Albertans are encouraged to download the Alberta Emergency Alert mobile app, which immediately pushes all alerts out to subscribers.
Current situation
- Little Red River Cree Nation remains under a state of local emergency, declared via Band Council Resolution.
- An evacuation order remains in effect for the Garden River community.
- Semo Complex Fire (HWF061) is classified as out of control at more than 46,000 hectares in size. It is still about nine kilometres from Highway 58 and 30 kilometres northwest of Garden River.
- More than 200 firefighters and support staff, 10 helicopters, and 43 pieces of heavy equipment are actively responding to the Semo Wildfire Complex.
- Personnel and aircraft have been imported from other jurisdictions through mutual aid agreements to support incident management and fire suppression efforts on the Semo and Amber River complexes.
- Since January 1, there have been 848 wildfires recorded in the Forest Protection Area that have burned more than 293,000 hectares.
- Of these wildfires, 51 are classified as out of control, 33 are being held, 44 are under control and 720 have been extinguished.
- While lightning is a major cause of wildfires at this time of year, extra caution is urged to prevent any additional fire starts that will add to the already extreme wildfire situation.
- As of July 17, there are four wildfires of note in the Forest Protection Area. Information about these wildfires can be found by visiting the Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard.
Fire bans
- A fire ban is in place for the entire Forest Protection Area of Alberta.
- Cities, towns, villages and summer villages, as well as federal lands, such as national parks, are exempt from this ban.
- These jurisdictions have the authority to issue their own bans and may have complementary bans in place.
- Albertans should visit the website or social media for their local municipality to confirm if a fire ban is in effect in their area.
- For information on activities prohibited under this ban, visit alberta.ca/fire-bans.
Support for evacuees
- Residents of Little Red River Cree Nation, Garden River are eligible for emergency evacuation payments and applications have now opened.
- Residents are encouraged to apply online at evacuationpayment.alberta.ca/. Those who have left the area can access any local Alberta Supports office from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for assistance applying for an emergency evacuation payment. Alberta Supports office locations are available at alberta.ca/alberta-supports.
- In-person applications will also be accepted from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in High Level at the Best Western Hotel (9616 AB-58) and at John D’Or Prairie School on July 17 and 18.
Roads and highways
- There are currently no highway closures.
- Visit 511.alberta.ca for up-to-date information on road closures and travel advisories.
Health care
- There are currently no hospital closures.
Education
- There are currently no school closures.
Emergency Preparedness
- Get ready for emergencies and disasters by taking simple steps now. To be prepared, Albertans need to know what to do, where to go and have enough supplies for a week or more. Supplies include food, water, medications and important documents. Include supplies for pets as well.
- Read more about emergency preparedness.
