Connect with us
[the_ad id="89560"]

Alberta

Update 12: NW AB Fires 6:30 pm, June 2 – Re-entry plans announced for northwest Alberta communities.

Published

5 years ago

15 minute read

June 02, 2019 

Beginning Monday at 10 a.m., residents can return to High Level, the surrounding areas of Mackenzie County and the Dene Tha’ First Nation communities of Bushe River, Meander River and Chateh.

Returning residents will be under an evacuation alert and should be prepared to leave on short notice if conditions change.

The following communities remain on evacuation alert:

  • Town of Slave Lake
  • MD of Lesser Slave Lake, including Old Smith Highway, Mitsue, Poplar Lane, Fawcett Lake, Eben Road and Bayer Road
  • Peerless Lake area of Peerless Trout First Nation
  • Town of Manning and some surrounding areas
  • Mackenzie County, north of the Peace River to Township Road 1110, west of Range Road 120, and east of Highway 35 south of High Level; and south of the Peace River to Township Road 1040, west of Range Road 120 and east of Steep Hill Creek

Mandatory evacuations remain in place for:

  • Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement
  • Keg River, Carcajou, and all residents from the northern border of the County of Northern Lights to Township Road 922 (Notikewin Road)
    • Bigstone Cree Nation
      • Wabasca No. 166
    • Parts of the MD of Opportunity No. 17
    • Hamlet of Wabasca – Desmarais
    • Hamlet of Sandy Lake
    • Chipewyan Lake Village
  • Steen River
  • The Trout Lake area of Peerless Trout First Nation
  • MD of Lesser Slave River
  • Hamlet of Marten Beach

Current situation

  • Chuckegg Creek wildfire, southwest of High Level, is about 280,000 hectares.
  • Jackpot Creek wildfire, approximately 11 km north of Lutose, is about 24,700 hectares.
  • McMillan Wildfire Complex, southwest of Bigstone Cree Nation, is more than 212,386 hectares.
  • Battle Wildfire Complex in Peace River is about 53,900 hectares.
  • Provincial resources on the ground include more than 2,300 wildland and structural firefighters and staff, approximately 228 helicopters and 28 air tankers and heavy equipment.
  • Residents should check Alberta Emergency Alerts for more detailed and frequently updated information.
  • Approximately 11,000 people have been evacuated.
  • People driving in fire-affected areas should carry enough fuel, as it may not be readily available.

Visit emergency.alberta.ca for detailed and frequently updated information.

Air quality

  • Smoke is causing poor air quality and reducing visibility.
  • Much of northern Alberta is under a special air quality statement.
  • Individuals may experience symptoms, such as increased coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath. Children, seniors and those with cardiovascular or lung disease, such as asthma, are especially at risk.
  • If you experience breathing difficulties, find an indoor place that’s cool and ventilated.
  • Alberta Wildfire recommends checking FireSmoke.ca to find out where the smoke is coming from.

Financial supports

  • Evacuees should check alberta.ca/emergency for updates on evacuation payment eligibility.
  • Evacuees in need of financial assistance for immediate needs can apply for an Income Support program emergency needs allowance. This benefit may cover your accommodation, clothing and other urgent needs. Please call 1-877-644-9992 for more information.
  • You may qualify for the evacuation payment if you were:
    • living, working or vacationing in the affected area
    • forced to leave due to an evacuation order
    • forced to leave your residence (primary, working or vacationing) due to a mandatory evacuation order – current communities include:
      • High Level
      • Paddle Prairie
      • Bushe River
      • Chateh
      • Meander River
    • paid for most of your costs to evacuate
  • Albertans who qualify will receive $1,250 and $500 for each dependent child under 18 living in the same home when the evacuation order was given.
  • Applications methods:
  • If you are visiting an Alberta Support Centre, please bring:
    • Photo identification
    • Proof of residence or presence in the community
    • Identification for partner/spouse and/or dependents children if claiming for them 
  • If you have questions, contact Alberta Supports: 1-877-644-9992.
  • More than 6,600 individuals have received evacuee support, and more than $6.8 million has been distributed.

Reception and call centres

  • Reception centres are open at:
    • Slave Lake Legacy Centre (400 6 Avenue NE)
    • High Prairie Gordon Buchanan Centre (5413 49 Street)
    • Grande Prairie Regional College (10726 106 Avenue)
    • Peace River Misery Mountain Ski Hill (10408 89 Street)
    • La Crete Heritage Centre (25411 Township Road 1060, south of La Crete)
    • Fort Vermilion Community Cultural Complex (5001 44 Avenue)
    • Dene Wellness Centre (In K’atl’ Odeeche First Nation, 17 kilometres east of Hay River)
    • Calling Lake Recreation Centre (2870 Central Drive)
    • Back Lakes Arena (249 Red Earth)
  • Evacuation reception centre hours can be found at emergency.alberta.ca.
  • Government’s call centre at 310-4455 will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 

Highway updates

  • To stay informed on all road closures due to the wildfires, visit 511.Alberta.ca or download the mobile app.
  • Highway 35 from High Level to the Northwest Territories border is open at this time. Emergency management officials are monitoring highway and wildfire conditions closely. Authorities may close the highway without warning if conditions change.
  • The following highways are closed:
    • Highway 35, south of High Level to 2nd Street within the Town of Manning.
    • Highway 692 near Hawk Hills.
    • Highway 695, East and West, including Keg River.
    • Highway 697, from Highway 35 to Range Road 185, west of La Crete.
    • Highway 813 from Wabasca to Sandy Lake closed.
    • Highway 754 from Highway 88 to Wabasca.
  • The La Crete Ferry is closed.

Insurance information

  • Most home and tenant insurance policies provide coverage for living expenses during an evacuation.
  • Evacuees should retain all of their receipts for food, accommodation and other related expenses to provide to their insurer.
  • Albertans can contact the Insurance Bureau of Canada at 1-844-227-5422 or by email at [email protected]. Information about insurance coverage is available online at ibc.ca/ab/disaster/alberta-wildfire.

Justice and legal matters

  • All High Level, Fort Vermillion and Chateh court matters will be heard in Peace River. Call the Peace River court at 780-624-6256 for inquiries on matters scheduled for this week and next. Matters will be held by phone, if necessary, but you must register to do so.
  • In many cases, tickets can be paid online. For any other inquiries requiring direction from the court about Peace River and High Level court matters, call the Peace River court at 780-624-6256.
  • If you have an appointment with a probation officer in an evacuated area, report to the community corrections office nearest you. Please call 780-427-3109 (to call toll free, first dial 310-0000) for information.
  • If you are an intermittent server in an evacuated area, call the Peace River Correctional Centre at 780-624-5480 (to call toll-free, first dial 310-0000).

Education

  • School officials in fire-impacted areas will address the impacts of disruption on the academic program and school year. Students or their guardians should watch for online or direct communications from local school authorities about specific changes.

Provincial park closures

  • Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park, Twin Lakes Provincial Recreation Area, Moose Lake Provincial Park and Notikewin Provincial Park are closed.
  • Calling Lake Provincial Park campground is closed to accommodate evacuees from the M.D. of Opportunity. Any campground reservations will be refunded. The boat launch is available for public day use, including for anglers participating in the fishing season starting June 1.

Boil water advisory

  • Boil water advisories remain in place for Meander River (Dene Tha’ First Nation) and North Tall Cree (Little Red River Cree Nation). Although power has been restored, the boil water advisories will remain in place until water testing is complete.

Health

  • Mental health support is available by calling Alberta’s 24-hour help line at 1-877-303-2642.
  • Alberta Health Services is providing support to the reception centres. These supports include addiction and mental health, Indigenous health liaisons, nursing, emergency medical services, public health and home care.
  • Alberta Health Services has relocated acute patients and continuing care residents from La Crete and Fort Vermilion to health facilities in Edmonton and surrounding communities.
  • The emergency department at St. Theresa General Hospital in Fort Vermilion remains open. 

Pets and livestock

  • High Level animal control has collected household pets that have been left behind. For questions regarding your pets, please call 780-926-2201.
  • For evacuees in the Wabasca area, please fill out an online form on the Alberta Animal Disaster Response Facebook group, or text 403-869-4964 and provide your name, contact number, number of animals missing, where they were last seen, and a brief description of your pet.
  • The County of Northern lights will allow residents to enter property to look after livestock between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Residents must first go to the County Office to register for the temporary access pass.

Electricity and Natural Gas Billing

  • High Level and area residential, farm, irrigation and small commercial electricity and natural gas customers affected by the evacuation will not be billed for the period covered by the order.

Donations and volunteers

  • High Level is not accepting donations or volunteers at this time.
  • The Town of Slave Lake has set up an online form for offers.
  • Check the Mackenzie County Facebook page for an up-to-date list of donations needed and drop-off locations.

Canada Post

Mail service has been suspended in:

  • High Level, Meander River, Chateh, Paddle Prairie, Keg River
    • High Level evacuees can pick up mail from the Slave Lake Post Office
    • Chateh evacuees can pick up mail at the Fort Vermilion Post Office
    • Meander River evacuees can pick up mail at the La Crete Post Office

Mail service has been restored in:

  • Fort Vermilion, La Crete, Rainbow Lake, Zama City

If you require urgent access to critical items, such as medications and passports, please call 1-800-267-1177. You may be able to arrange for pick up at the Slave Lake Post Office (100 2 Street NE).

Mail will be held at the Edmonton depot until mail service resumes.

Income Support, Alberta Supports and AISH

  • Evacuees receiving the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped or the Income Support program by cheque rather than electronic deposit can pick up their cheque at their nearest Alberta Supports Centres.
  • If you are in La Crete, you can pick up your cheque at the local reception centre. If you receive your benefits via direct deposit, your payment will be deposited as usual.
  • For information on child intervention and child care, call 1-800-638-0715. 
  • Persons with developmental disabilities, their families or contracted service providers can call the nearest Alberta Supports Centre for assistance.
  • For additional information on social benefits, or to find a list of Alberta Supports Centres, call 1-877-644-9992 province-wide between 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monday to Friday.
  • Employment insurance: evacuees can visit Service Canada online to apply at www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei.html. Use code 4812014812201900.

Health card, driver’s licences, ID cards, birth certificate

  • To get a replacement Health Care Insurance Card call 780-427-1432 or toll free at 310-0000 and then 780-427-1432 when prompted. Your Alberta Personal Health Card can be mailed to a temporary address.  
  • If driver’s licences, identification cards, and/or birth certificates were left behind during the evacuation, replacement cards and certificates can be ordered free of charge at a registry agent.

Public information

  • You can call 310-4455 for more information.

Related information

Related Topics:

President Todayville Inc., Honorary Colonel 41 Signal Regiment, Board Member Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award Foundation, Director Canadian Forces Liaison Council (Alberta) musician, photographer, former VP/GM CTV Edmonton.

Follow Author

More from this author
Alberta / 1 year ago

41 Signal Regiment trains for winter survival at CFB Wainwright

Central Alberta / 1 year ago

Local artist records original song for Remembrance Day with video showcasing Red Deer’s military history

Community / 2 years ago

Glenn Anderson adds some colour to the “Day of Golf”

Alberta

Danielle Smith warns arsonists who start wildfires in Alberta that they will be held accountable

Published on April 18, 2024

By

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The Alberta government has created an ad campaign highlighting the fact that most fires are caused by humans and not ‘climate change,’ as many left-leaning politicians claim.

In preparation for the so-called wildfire “season,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith sternly warned anyone caught starting blazes in her province, including arsonists, that they will face charges and be held fully “liable” for all costs associated with the fires.

“As we approach the wildfire season, it is important to understand that 67% of wildfires in Alberta are started by people,” Smith posted Monday on X.

“If you start a wildfire, you can be charged, fined, and held liable for all costs associated with fighting the wildfire.”

Smith made the comments after last year revealing that most of the wildfires in her province (500 of the 650) were caused by humans and not “climate change,” as has been pushed by the legacy media and opposition politicians.

“All I know is in my province we have 650 fires and 500 of them were human caused,” she said, “so we have to make sure that when people know that when it’s dry out there and we get into forest fire season that they’re being a lot more careful because anytime you end up with an ignition that happens it can have devastating consequences.”

To go along with Smith’s Monday message, the Alberta government has also created an ad campaign highlighting the fact that most fires are caused by humans and not “climate change,” as many left-leaning politicians claim.

As reported by LifeSiteNews last year, Smith ordered arson investigators to look into why some of the wildfires that raged across the vast expanse of the province had “no known cause” shortly after they spread.

During the campaign of Alberta’s 2023 election, Smith, whose United Conservative Party won a majority government, had to pause to deal with many wildfires that suddenly, out of nowhere, ravaged the province. The fires came on suddenly and uncharacteristically considering the heavy snowfall in the province in early March and rain in April.

LifeSiteNews reported that despite the arrest of multiple arsonists, Canada’s mainstream media and the federal government have been pushing a narrative attributing the recent wildfires to “climate change.”

However, statistics from Canada’s National Fire Database show that wildfires have gone down in recent years and peaked in 1989.

As for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he has repeatedly used “climate change” and forest fires as a catalyst for propping up his government’s much-maligned carbon tax, which Smith opposes. He has blamed the fires on “climate change.”

A June 2017 peer-reviewed study by two scientists and a veteran statistician confirmed that most of the recent global warming data have been “fabricated by climate scientists to make it look more frightening.”

Trudeau has been calling for increased bans on Canada’s natural resources, of which Alberta has in abundance.

Smith has vowed to fight Trudeau on his attacks against Alberta’s oil and gas industry.

The reduction and eventual elimination of so-called “fossil fuels” and a transition to unreliable “green” energy has also been pushed by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the globalist group behind the socialist “Great Reset” agenda in which Trudeau and some of his cabinet are involved.

Continue Reading

Alberta

Free Alberta Strategy backing Smith’s Provincial Priorities Act

Published on April 16, 2024

By

News release from Free Alberta Strategy

Premier Danielle Smith had a message for Ottawa last week.

Keep out.

On Wednesday, the Premier rolled out her latest weapon in the fight against federal intrusions into provincial jurisdiction.

If passed, Bill 18 – the Provincial Priorities Act – aims to align federal funding with provincial priorities, ensuring that said funding reflects Alberta’s interests.

The legislation stipulates that any agreements between the federal government and any provincial entities – including municipalities – must receive provincial approval to be considered valid.

Smith has already given it a nickname: “the stay-out-of-my-backyard bill.”

It’s an apt description of the legislation, especially considering that’s what the federal government has been doing for years – encroaching into Alberta’s jurisdiction.

The legislation shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

We all know that most deals the Alberta government enters into with the federal government don’t work out for Albertans.

We end up paying more in federal taxes than gets spent in federal spending on the programs.

The programs come laden with restrictive conditions that undermine our autonomy, and are often detrimental to our ability to provide the services.

This is especially true with regard to the recent agreement between Ottawa and the provinces that allows the federal government to nationalize childcare.

The childcare agreement has come under heavy criticism due to funding shortfalls in the deal.

It also applies to housing, where despite Alberta accounting for 12% of the national population and experiencing the most rapid population growth, it received a mere 2.5% of the total $1.5 billion in federal housing funding last summer.

Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, is in charge of housing in Alberta – which is provincial jurisdiction.

On the latest rollout of conditional federal housing handouts, Nixon isn’t buying.

“We will not be bribed, with our own money, to increase the time it takes to get homes built with green energy that makes homes more expensive.”

The theory also applies to the federal government’s latest gambit – doing an end-around provincial negotiations and going directly to municipalities, who seem more interested in taking the money than the conditions attached.

Municipalities are provincial jurisdiction.

Bill 18 mandates that entities within Alberta’s jurisdiction, such as municipalities, universities, school boards, housing agencies, and health authorities, must seek the province’s approval before engaging in, modifying, extending, or renewing agreements with Ottawa.

Agreements between the federal government and provincial entities lacking Alberta’s endorsement will be deemed illegal under this legislation.

That’s Premier Smith’s message.

She’s had enough of it.

“It is not unreasonable for Alberta to demand fairness from Ottawa. They have shown time and again that they will put ideology before practicality, which hurts Alberta families and our economy. We are not going to apologize for continuing to stand up for Albertans so we get the best deal possible.

“Since Ottawa refuses to acknowledge the negative impacts of its overreach, even after losing battles at the Federal and Supreme Courts, we are putting in additional measures to protect our provincial jurisdiction to ensure our province receives our fair share of federal tax dollars and that those dollars are spent on the priorities of Albertans.”

Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver had additional thoughts:

“For years, the federal government has been imposing its agenda on Alberta taxpayers through direct funding agreements with cities and other provincial organizations. Not only does Alberta not receive its per capita share of federal taxpayer dollars, the money we do receive is often directed towards initiatives that don’t align with Albertan’s priorities.

“Albertans from all corners of the province expect our federal share of taxes for roads, infrastructure, housing and other priorities – not federal government political pet projects and programs in select communities.”

The Provincial Priorities Act is based on existing provincial legislation in Quebec – called “An Act Respecting the Ministère du Conseil executif” – which prohibits any municipal body from entering into or negotiating an agreement with the federal government or its agencies without express authorization from the Quebec government.

That’s right – the Quebec government has the same rule!

So, this boils down to the same argument we’ve been making for years – if Ottawa wants to step into our backyard, it must first seek Alberta’s approval.

Enough is enough – we won’t stand idly by as our interests are trampled upon.

It’s time for Ottawa to recognize Alberta’s autonomy and respect our right to determine our own future.

At the Free Alberta Strategy, we know that constant vigilance is necessary – for every fence we put up, the federal government tries to find a way around it.

We’ll continue to bring you information about what’s happening in Alberta’s backyard and fighting to keep Ottawa out.

The Free Alberta Strategy Team

Continue Reading

Trending

X