High winds and extremely dry conditions propelled a 3,000-hectare blaze over firebreaks yesterday and into Sturgeon County.
As of press time the fire was moving into Sturgeon County, threatening residents in two acreage subdivisions and a host of other homeowners.
A firebreak set up near Range Road 234 and Township Road 583 was being breached and six homes nearest that line were being evacuated as a precaution.
Crews were estimating the fire would be a threat to those properties by early evening.
The fire has been burning out of control since it first sprung up on May 12 and has done the most damage in Thorhild County near the small hamlet of Opal.
It has slowly spread north and west and pushed into Sturgeon and Westlock counties yesterday.
Calli Stromner, a spokesperson for Sturgeon County, said the evacuation orders only applied to those six homes, but there was potential for the order to expand.
“It depends entirely on the rate at which the fire progresses and the direction. We have alerted those folks in Clearview Acres and Braun Village to the possibility.”
There were more than 200 firefighters with the provincial Sustainable Resource Department on scene, as well as dozens of local volunteer firefighters, 10 helicopters and several air tankers.
Stromner said Sturgeon crews were trying to keep the blaze contained, with the hope that changing weather conditions would help later this week.
“Our resources are trying to keep it at bay at the border because we are supposed to get some cooler temperatures and hopefully some precipitation.”
Sturgeon crews, with help from provincial firefighters, had to tackle a second blaze on Sunday evening at the Lost Point Lake Estates subdivision.
Stromner said that fire was dealt with quickly and crews were still watching it for any hot spots.
Firefighters from Morinville, Redwater, Gibbons, Bon Accord and Namao have all been dispatched to the larger fire. Stromner said they have been trying to rotate the crews to make sure there will be back-up for other emergencies.
“They have been spelling off just to make sure we had enough resources at the ready in case.”
The county still has a fire ban in place because of the hot dry conditions.
Stromner said the lightest sparks could cause a major fire, because it would spread very rapidly.
“Anything could ignite right now, even a rock from your lawnmower could ignite a spark,” she said. “We are five times drier than we were last year based on the precipitation reports we have from the province.”
Unlike last year, the county has not put an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) ban in place.
Stromner said it appears quad users are being responsible with the use of the vehicles. They should still be careful to make sure spark arrestors are firmly in place and check for dry grass and other debris near their tailpipes.
“The fire chief is pretty confident that ATVs are not the problem here.”
Updates on the fire will be available at www.stalbertgazette.com
