Fire danger high as blaze southwest of Grande Prairie triggers evacuation orders
About 100 evacuees have registered with county as of Monday morning
Fire crews in the County of Grande Prairie have begun to gain the upper hand on a wildfire that forced about 100 people from their homes over the weekend, but they caution their progress may be short-lived.
In an update to residents Monday, the county's regional fire service and Alberta Wildfire said a wildfire burning south of the city is now 90 per cent contained.
Officials said crews battling the Deer Ridge Estates wildfire made critical progress overnight, but that conditions expected in the region on Monday may challenge that progress.
SEE ALSO: B.C., Alberta wildfires trending upwards as dry environments prevail
There is no precipitation in the forecast and crews are expecting crossover conditions, which include low humidity, elevated temperatures and high winds.
Crews have been working to contain the fire that burned out of control throughout the weekend, triggering evacuation orders as parched, windy conditions grew more extreme.
A wildfire in Sturgeon County, northeast of Edmonton, has nearby residents on evacuation alert. (Sturgeon County)
'At the mercy of Mother Nature'
Trevor Grant, regional fire chief, said the blaze has now spread across more than 80 hectares. It continues to burn out of control, Grant said.
He said officials are hoping to have the fire fully contained by the end of day, but it will all depend on the conditions.
Tinder dry grass and vegetation in the region are expected to create intense conditions for crews. The wildfire risk remains very high amid clear skies, an afternoon high of 18 C and wind gusts up to 40 km/h.
A total fire ban for the entire county, as well as the City of Grande Prairie, came in to effect Monday morning.
"We're really at the mercy of Mother Nature," Grant said in an interview with CBC News Monday.
"We're doing everything we possibly can to prevent it from spreading."
Grant said crews are focused on dousing hot spots that could send embers into the air and allow the fire to spread. They are hoping to get an advantage over the fire as the region braces for a week of warm, dry weather, Grant said.
Grant said he is hopeful that relatively calmer winds forecast for Monday will provide some relief and give crews enough of an edge to establish a perimeter.
An evacuation order remains in effect for an area of the county, which includes a stretch of rural properties, an industrial park, and two subdivisions on the outskirts of the Alberta city.
A wildfire burning north of the Deer Ridge Estates area burned out of control throughout the weekend, putting homes under threat, shutting down local roads and filling the sky with water tankers.
Residents living south of Township Road 710 to 27th Avenue and east of Range Road 64 to Highway 40 remain on evacuation order.
An aerial view of the damage caused by a wildfire burning on the outskirts of Grande Prairie. (County of Grande Prairie)
Everyone else in the area is under an evacuation alert and should be prepared to leave immediately.
Grant said crews were battling extreme conditions Sunday, including 60 km/h winds that fanned the flames.
The fire, detected that morning, spread rapidly through local farmland, with grass fires fuelling the spread of the flames through the treetops of a nearby forested areas.
By mid-afternoon, it became clear that some residents would need to leave, Grant said.
"The wind conditions were pretty extreme and the fire was moving fairly, fairly rapidly," Grant said.
About 50 homes in the county remain under evacuation. As of Monday morning, no properties or structures have been lost, but some vehicles have been destroyed, Grant said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, he said.
A wildfire near the Redwater Recreation Area, about 60 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, has also put residents on edge.
An evacuation alert is in effect for an area of Sturgeon County, which was expanded Monday afternoon to include any residents living south of Township 580 to the North Saskatchewan River and east of Range Road 212 to the North Saskatchewan River. According to the alert, residents in the area should be prepared to evacuate if the situation worsens.
An out-of-control wildfire in the area has triggered a state of local emergency.
As of early Sunday morning, the fire had not crossed the North Saskatchewan River, but one home had been destroyed as the flames spread through the rural farmland that surrounds the provincial park.
WATCH: New wildfire-fighting investments announced in Alberta
Thumbnail courtesy of County of Grande Prairie via CBC.
The story, written by Wallis Snowdon, was originally published for CBC News.