Scott Hayes | [email protected]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
What a difference a wet week makes.聽
Seven days ago, Edson was under an evacuation order because of the threat of EWF031 inching closer to the townsite.
Now, that wildfire 鈥� one of the four blazes that comprise the Pembina Wildfire Complex 鈥� is now listed as 鈥渂eing held鈥� at 204,318 ha in size.
The town鈥檚 evacuation order was lifted last Friday, though a fire restriction remains in effect.聽
The latest Edson Forest Area wildfire update indicated that the wildfire danger had moved to 鈥渓ow,鈥� a major downgrade from being rated 鈥渆xtreme鈥� as of June 12.
Since June 17, over 100 mm of rainfall were measured over different locations of the fire.
The news comes as some relief, but authorities caution people that there is still danger present.
鈥淯nder the current weather conditions and the resources available, there will be no unexpected growth, however firefighters anticipate the possibility of a small amount of spread which would be normal on a wildfire of this size,鈥� reads the notice.
The advisory also cautioned the public about safety near burnt areas.
鈥淭here are many hazards that may not be visible, like deep burning ash pits, downed powerlines and falling trees,鈥� it continued.
The current fire danger rating in Jasper is also 鈥渓ow.鈥�
There are 180 firefighters and 65 support staff being shared between the Pembina Complex with 52 pieces of heavy equipment and 18 helicopters assigned.
Unfortunately, the major moisture left Edson and Yellowhead County in a state of emergency because of a freak storm that passed through the area on Monday.
Heavy precipitation resulted in overland flooding, snow accumulation, fallen power transmission lines and power outages in some areas.聽
To the southwest of that town, the community of Robb was evacuated due to the rising river.
A shelter-in-place order was also issued on Tuesday morning, affecting residents in southern parts of Peers, a hamlet to the northeast of Edson.
鈥淲e go from wildfires burning and we鈥檙e praying for water, to now asking the water to shut off,鈥� said Yellowhead County Mayor Wade Williams during a Tuesday public briefing on the emergency.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a real rodeo here from the fires to the rain and then to the snow up there that took out the power line to one of the hamlets 鈥� Cadomin on the west end.鈥�
He reminded people that while the weather has offered a reprieve, 鈥渢hese wildfires are not out.鈥�
According to the , there were 73 active wildfires around the province with only 13 listed as 鈥渙ut of control.鈥�
The largest out of control wildfire was HWF036, now at more than 165,000 ha in the High Level Forest Area. It started on May 3 and its cause is still under investigation.
There were 22 new wildfires since this time last week.
Of the 656 wildfires so far in 2023, 384 have been deemed to be caused by humans, meaning everything from recreational fires to agricultural incidents to wildfires caused by people on residential land.
Lightning caused 141 wildfires while the remaining 127 are still under investigation.
