Residents of Fort Chipewyan were advised they must leave their homes because of wildfires..Fort Chipewyan, population of about 800, is roughly 300-km northeast of Fort McMurray..Roughly 630 people left their homes.."Although more evacuated Albertans are returning home, continued wildfire activity means a number of evacuation orders and alerts remain in place," said Bre Hutchinson, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.."Yesterday I reported we were seeing increased fire activity in the Fort Chipewyan area, and I noticed the evacuation alert has been issued. That alert has since been upgraded to an evacuation order.".Hutchinson said the province is working very closely with the local authorities.."I can tell you we have just over 630 individuals to date that have been evacuated from the community. We are doing so by air and by boats," Hutchinson said.."We've had about 108 individuals taken out by Canadian Armed Forces on the Hercules aircraft and another 96 people have gone by boat, in total 537 people by air.".Hutchinson said boats and planes are being used because Fort Chipewyan is such a remote community with only two options to evacuate.."We did work closely and early on with officials to ensure that we can get people out as quickly and safely as possible," Hutchinson said..Winds on Wednesday evening are expected to continue pushing the fire from from the community..The wildfire located north of the community continues to be a top priority today," said Josee St-Onge, information officer at Alberta Wildfire."It is now about 8,600 hectares in size, and it's 10-km away from the community of Fort Chipewyan."
Residents of Fort Chipewyan were advised they must leave their homes because of wildfires..Fort Chipewyan, population of about 800, is roughly 300-km northeast of Fort McMurray..Roughly 630 people left their homes.."Although more evacuated Albertans are returning home, continued wildfire activity means a number of evacuation orders and alerts remain in place," said Bre Hutchinson, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.."Yesterday I reported we were seeing increased fire activity in the Fort Chipewyan area, and I noticed the evacuation alert has been issued. That alert has since been upgraded to an evacuation order.".Hutchinson said the province is working very closely with the local authorities.."I can tell you we have just over 630 individuals to date that have been evacuated from the community. We are doing so by air and by boats," Hutchinson said.."We've had about 108 individuals taken out by Canadian Armed Forces on the Hercules aircraft and another 96 people have gone by boat, in total 537 people by air.".Hutchinson said boats and planes are being used because Fort Chipewyan is such a remote community with only two options to evacuate.."We did work closely and early on with officials to ensure that we can get people out as quickly and safely as possible," Hutchinson said..Winds on Wednesday evening are expected to continue pushing the fire from from the community..The wildfire located north of the community continues to be a top priority today," said Josee St-Onge, information officer at Alberta Wildfire."It is now about 8,600 hectares in size, and it's 10-km away from the community of Fort Chipewyan."
