May 10 at 5 p.m. – Slight increase in wildfire activity, Slave Lake safe, and fire fighters making progress
This article was updated on May 10 at 5 p.m. – The most up to day wildfire information is on the Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard. The Town of Slave Lake will be doing wildfire updates at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m. through its Voyent Alert system, its Facebook page, and the older email alert system. People can register for Voyent Alert by clicking here. People can received emails, texts, or download an app. The M.D. of Lesser Slave River has Wildfire Status updates on its website, to go to these click here. Road closures are available at 511 Alberta. A list of active wildfire evacuations and alerts are here. Once a day when the wildfire danger is high, very high, or extreme, Alberta Wildfire publishes Slave Lake Forest Area updates at https://srd.web.alberta.ca/slave-lake-area-update.
As of May 10 at 12:30 p.m, the wildfire danger in the Slave Lake Forest Area was high. A fire ban and OHV restriction were in place in the forest area and the Town of Slave Lake. After a couple of cool days of limited wildfire activity, the afternoon of May 9 wildfire activity started to increase.
None of these wildfires were close to Slave Lake. As of May 10, East Prairie Métis Settlement and Whitefish Lake First Nation were still evacuated. Hwy. 33 from Hwy. 2 to Swan Hills was down to 50 km speed limit because of smoke. This could change, so people should check 511 before travelling.
Unless otherwise indicated the information below is from Alberta Wildfire Slave Lake Wildfire Update from May 10 at 12:30 p.m.
There were no new wildfires yesterday. Slave Lake Forest Area had seven out of control wildfires, four under control, and one being held.
Wildfires of note:
Grizzly Complex–SWF063, SWF064, and SWF057
There is a 200 person camp being assembled to support the Grizzly complex and an incident team is expected today.
SWF063 located south of High Prairie did experience some fire activity on the north end of the wildfire inside the perimeter. The area was actioned by helicopters bucketing.The fire guard has been completed on the northwest side of the wildfire. Firefighters with Nodwells are working hotspots in around the East Prairie Metis Settlement and on the north end of the wildfire at Heavy equipment continues to build fire guard around the east side of the wildfire. There are 22 firefighters, four heavy equipment groups and six helicopters working on the wildfire.
This wildfire started on May 4. It cause the evacuation of East Prairie Métis Settlement on May 5. It also caused the evacuation of Enilda and parts of Big Lakes County. East Prairie is still evacuated to High Prairie. As of May 7 when it stopped moving, it was seven km southeast of High Prairie. As of May 10, the border of the fire is still seven km from High Prairie.
In the last few days, some of the effects of this wildfire are starting to come to light.
A wildfire burned 27 homes and a bridge in East Prairie Métis Settlement, says a May 9 Global News article. Of these, 13 were unoccupied and 14 were people’s homes. East Prairie is south of Enilda.
SWF057 is located on the southwest side Grizzly Ridge Wildland Provincial Park. Yesterday afternoon the wildfire did experience growth on the south end of the wildfire. Airtankers were able to lay lines of retardant around the excursion and it did not cross Highway 33. Heavy equipment continues to build fire guard along west to south side of the wildfire and firefighters continue to secure the guard by extinguishing the wildfire’s perimeter. There are ten firefighters, three equipment groups and seven helicopters working on the wildfire.
Firefighters continue to monitor SWF064 and there was no substantial growth.
Nipisi Complex-SWF059,SWF060
SWF060 caused the evacuation of Atikameg and Whitefish River, which are communities within Whitefish Lake First Nation on May 5. As of May 10, these evacuees were still in Slave Lake.
SWF060 is located on the northeast side of Utikuma Lake. The wildfire remains 2.3 kilometres from the border of the Whitefish Lake First Nation. The sprinkler line along the community FireSmart fire guard has been completed.
With the north winds yesterday the south perimeter did experience some wildfire activity and airtankers were called to action it. The overall growth of the wildfire was minimal. Helicopters continue to bucket on hotspots on the entire wildfire. Firefighters continue to extinguish the edge of the wildfire on the south end. Heavy equipment will start building fire guard around SWF059 which is located northeast of SWF060.There are 54 firefighters, four heavy equipment groups and eight helicopters working on the wildfire.
Wildfire operations for SWF068 located northwest of Peavine Metis Settlement will be transferred over to the Peace River Forest Area. Today, nine firefighters will be working to extinguish hot spots on the south end of the wildfire closest to Peavine Metis Settlement. To see the full update go to https://srd.web.alberta.ca/slave-lake-area-update
The province of Alberta is under a state of emergency because of all of the wildfires across the province. Therefore at around 6 p.m. it is sending out wildfire news releases.
As of 6 p.m. on May 9, Gift Lake Métis Settlement was under an evacuation alert, says a government of Alberta wildfire report. This meant they should be prepared to leave at short notice.
The following communities within the Slave Lake Forest Area had a local state of emergency – Whitefish Lake First Nation, Big Lakes County, Gift Lake Métis Settlement, Town of High Prairie, East Prairie Métis Settlement, Peavine Métis Settlement, and Northern Sunrise County.
The High Prairie Health Complex reopened on May 8 at 8 p.m. Patients including long term care residents were evacuated the weekend of May 6. At that time, High Prairie was on one-hour evacuation alert. JB Wood Continuing Care in High Prairie was evacuated on May 6 and remains evacuated. East Prairie Community Health Services closed on May 6, following the evacuation of that community.
Alberta Health Services has issued a boil water advisory for the River Bend Water Co-op in Big Lakes County as a precautionary measure.
Evacuees in Slave Lake
Slave Lake is hosting evacuees from Atikameg and Whitefish River.
As of the evening of May 7, Slave Lake had hosted around 600 wildfire evacuees, says Town of Slave Lake Mayor Frankie Ward in an update. They will be in Slave Lake for a few more days, as the power is off in their community.
The Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre runs the local food bank and a second hand store. It has opened its doors to helping the Atikameg and Whitefish River evacuees with food, clothing, and other support.
As of May 10 at 8 a.m., it had 196 applications, which helped 544 people, the following Atikameg and Whitefish River evacuees.
The social media post also says, “With some of the roads opening for the Whitefish and area opening, we started getting new evacuees late yesterday not sure how this will all work out as we help these families. The evacuees are now coming for second round of food security as this has gone on longer than expected and we will continue to provide for their needs.”
The Friendship Centre has done this work with support from volunteers and local businesses. The Town of Slave Lake is providing housing and other support for the evacuees.
Donations to help evacuees
The Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre made the following social media post on May 10.
We are still in need of donations as we are still receiving evacuee intakes and applications for support. Donations can be dropped off directly at the slave lake native friendship centre. We are so thankful and appreciative of all of the support the community is providing in such a time of need.
food oriented items :
- all kinds and flavours of juice boxes
- pudding cups
- fruit cups
- cheese and cracker packs
- any snack food items for children and adults (fruit snacks, granola bars, rice krispy squares, nutrigrain bars, bear paws)
- whole fruit (bananas, apples, oranges)
- noodles (all brands and flavours, chicken and beef mostly)
- cans of soup, canned goods to be made in microwave
- cereal products, instant porridge (easy breakfast meal products as most do not have a fridge or microwave)
- ensure and meal replacement items were requested for elders
- water bottle cases
- lunch meats, canned meats, bread, butter (easy to make lunch and dinner options)
Personal hygiene needs : - hair brushes, combs, hair ties and all other hair essentials. (unisex and all age products are needed)
- shampoo and conditioner (unisex, and all ages are needed)
- body wash (unisex, and all ages are needed) three in ones are great or two in ones
- lotion (all different kinds are needed)
- women’s and mens deodorant
- women’s hygiene products (tampons, pads)
- shaving cream and razors (unisex)
- toothbrushes and tooth paste (all different kinds are needed)
- chapsticks
kids toys and activities to keep the children occupied are appreciated as we are giving them out as children come in. All baby | infant | toddler supplies is still needed. Mostly formula of all brands, distilled water for powder, lotion and body wash, baby foods, bottles, soothers, diaper rash cream.
We are still taking clothing donations as well for the evacuees to access here at the Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre.
Thank you to everyone donating, providing a helping hand with volunteering, the support and love does not go in noticed. Thank you again community of slave lake.
we could not do this without the help of the generous community members and volunteers.
Volunteer to help evacuees:
The afternoon of May 5, evacuees from Whitefish Lake First Nation and Atikameg came to Slave Lake, because wildfires. They will remain until power has returned to their community. Slave Lake is also ready to house more evacuees should that be necessary.
The Town of Slave Lake asks that anyone who is looking to volunteer to help with evacuees to send an email to volunteers@slavelake.ca and a Volunteer Coordinator will contact you or sign up here.
Fire ban and OHV restriction
As of May 5 and ongoing, both Slave Lake Forest Area and the Town of Slave Lake have a fire ban, including an OHV restriction. Under this fire ban:
All existing Fire Permits are suspended (or cancelled)
No new Fire Permits will be issued
Prohibited:
- All outdoor wood fires are banned, including wood campfires on public lands, wood campfires on private land and provincial campgrounds
- Backyard firepits
- BBQ charcoal briquettes
- The use of fireworks and exploding targets
- The recreational use of off-highway vehicles (OHV) on public lands, including designated OHV trails
Allowed:
- Propane/natural gas-powered appliances
- Open flame oil devices (e.g., turkey deep fryers, tiki torches)
- Indoor wood fires contained within a device with a chimney and spark arrestor
- All appliances must be CSA approved and used per manufacturer’s standards
- Indigenous people when using an OHV for traditional purposes. Traditional purposes are hunting, fishing, and trapping – including the use of an OHV to travel to the location(s) for these purposes.
- Essential industry-related activities requiring the use of OHVs.
- Off-highway vehicle use is still permitted on private lands.
by Pearl Lorentzen / South Peace News
May 10, 2023