Wildfire evacuation orders and alerts end for Janvier, Chipewyan Prairie First Nation

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The evacuation warning has ended for Janvier and the adjacent Chipewyan Prairie First Nation says its residents can return home. About 400 people from the area left their homes when wildfires began threatening their communities last week.

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The leadership of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation ordered an evacuation on July 18. A voluntary evacuation for seniors, young children, people with breathing issues and other people considered vulnerable was organized on July 17.

People in Janvier, which is a municipal hamlet, were only warned by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) to prepare for a full evacuation. However, most residents left the community during the week.

Because an evacuation was only called for First Nation members, they will be eligible for emergency financial relief from the Alberta government. This will be one-time payments of $1,250 per adult and $600 per child.

The wildfires themselves never hit Janvier or the First Nation. However, Highway 881 opened and closed three times because of heavy smoke and the wildfire’s proximity to the road. Highway 63 closed as the wildfire jumped the road. The only two roads out of Fort McMurray were closed on Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

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Fires in the region forced non-essential staff to be removed from Suncor’s Firebag operation, Canadian Natural Resource’s Sunrise site and MEG Energy’s Christina Lake operation. Imperial Oil also shrank the number of non-essential staff at its Kearl operations.

The Kettle River Complex is 17 wildfires burning in the Janvier and Conklin area southeast of Fort McMurray. There are 152 firefighters and support personnel, nine helicopters and 14 pieces of heavy equipment fighting this wildfire complex.

At their closest points, the fires are 12 kilometres northwest of Janvier and 12 kilometres northeast of Conklin. Construction has been completed for a fireguard on the line west of Highway 881.

The Algar Lake Complex is three major wildfires southwest of Fort McMurray. It is being fought by 152 personnel from Alberta, New Brunswick, Ontario and Australia. They are joined with 10 helicopters and 16 pieces of heavy equipment. There is also a structure protection group supervisor, an ignition team doing controlled burns, and a 15-person incident management team. At their closest points, the wildfires are 37 kilometres southwest of Fort McMurray.

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The Cattail Complex is three major wildfires burning north of Fort McMurray. There are 235 personnel working on this complex, including 128 firefighters from Alberta, Ontario and Australia. There are 19 helicopters and 10 pieces of heavy equipment working on the wildfires in this complex. An incident management team is overseeing operations.

At its closest points, the complex is 6.7 kilometres south of industrial sites, 38 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, and 46 kilometres east of the Fort McKay First Nation and Metis Nation.

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vmcdermott@postmedia.com

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