North Tallcree and Meander River
- The State of Local Emergency for the North Tallcree First Nation has been lifted, allowing 165 residents to return home today.
- Another 118 residents of Meander River who were under a precautionary evacuation returned to their community yesterday.
- The evacuees have been living in High Level since July 2.
Assisting Saskatchewan Evacuees
- Approximately 750 residents of the LaRonge area of Saskatchewan were evacuated to Cold Lake on July 5 due to out of control wildfires.
- The Government of Alberta in conjunction with the community of Cold Lake are collaborating with the Province of Saskatchewan and the Red Cross to facilitate the reception and housing of evacuees.
Wildfire Update
- Work continues to progress on the 5,800 hectare wildfire near North Tallcree First Nation. Firefighters have been able to prevent the fire from entering the community and have used bulldozers to construct a 20 km long fireguard between the wildfire and the community.
- Two wildfires burning closest to the community of Meander River are also now classified as being held, which means that are not expected to grow larger than their predetermined boundaries.
- There are currently 93 wildfires in Alberta, with 37 classified as out of control.
- Firefighters are working hard to address the wildfires across the province, with priority given to the protection of Albertans and their communities.
- More than 1,700 firefighters have been deployed along with helicopters, airtankers, and heavy equipment.
- An additional 50 firefighters from other jurisdictions arrived on Monday, with another 120 firefighters expected to arrive Tuesday and Wednesday.
Since April 1, 2015, Alberta has recorded more than 1,289 fires, which are estimated to have burned more than 370,000 hectares. A total of 1,196 fires have been extinguished, including 84 over the past week.
Download the Wildfire App and subscribe to the Alberta Emergency Alerts to stay informed and safe.