Nearly half of northern Alberta community destroyed as wildfires flare

As Albertans forced out by wildfires are being allowed to return home, other evacuees are learning their homes have been lost to the flames. 

During what has proven to be a devastating wildfire season across western Canada, the remote community of Chipewyan Lake has been among the hardest hit in Alberta in terms of damage to infrastructure. 

Close to half of the buildings in the small community, nestled in the boreal forests of northern Alberta about 450 kilometres north of Edmonton, have been destroyed.  

A wildfire swept through the remote community last week, hours after it was evacuated. 

Questions remain about how and when the community can rebuild, and where its 100 residents will live during the long recovery ahead. 

Chipewyan Lake lost some of its most critical community buildings, local emergency management officials with Bigstone Cree Nation and the MD of Opportunity No. 17 said Tuesday. 

Flyovers of the community show 38 structures and nine sheds destroyed.  An additional 10 buildings have been damaged, while 38 structures appear intact.

Marcel Auger, reeve of the municipal district, said an aerial assessment was completed by forestry officials on June 1. Ground surveys of the damaged buildings began Tuesday 

"The information is still not 100 per cent accurate until we have a boots-on-the-ground assessment completed," he said. 

"We will need to complete assessments of the community. We will also need to conduct a major cleanup and rebuild damaged infrastructure." 

The destroyed buildings include the Bigstone Health Centre, a local church and the community's water treatment plant — as well as homes and sheds. 

An aerial map released Wednesday shows the flames breached the community's sole entrance road before ripping through the heart of its streets, overlooking the southwest edge of the lake.  Red dots, representing complete losses, dot the map.

'Committed to rebuilding'

A wall of flames tore through the community on the evening of May 29, temporarily trapping eight firefighters overnight when their dispatch radios failed. The flames flared, consuming buildings and toppling trees, blocking the only road out. 

The firefighters were forced to take shelter overnight in a local school and fire hall before a rescue crew could cut a path through the downed trees. 

Andy Alook, chief of Bigstone Cree Nation —  which is made up of Chipewyan Lake as well as the communities of Calling Lake and Wabasca — said local government officials are working closely in the wake of the disaster. 

"Our governments are committed to rebuilding the community of Chipewyan Lake," Alook said in Tuesday's update to evacuees. 

"We are lobbying both the federal and provincial governments to support the efforts." 

Officials are working to obtain temporary housing solutions as soon as possible in Wabasca and are discussing permanent housing solutions in Chipewyan Lake, Alook said. 

The fire threatening Chipewyan Lake has now consumed more than 132,170 hectares and continues to burn out of control.

It's part of a complex of four wildfires in the region that has triggered ongoing evacuation orders in nearby communities including Red Earth Creek, Peerless Lake, Trout Lake and Loon River First Nation.

As of Thursday morning, a total of 52 wildfires were burning across Alberta  — 21 are out of control and eight are considered a current threat to nearby communities or critical infrastructure.

While relatively cooler temperatures this week have helped firefighting efforts, conditions remain dry and the wildfire risk remains extreme in regions across the province. 

Evacuation lifts in Swan Hills 

On Thursday afternoon, more than a week after evacuation orders were issued, the 1,300 residents of Swan Hills received word it is safe to return home.

Evacuation orders have been downgraded and now changed to a four-hour evacuation alert.

Residents of the town are allowed to return to the community as of 11 a.m. Thursday, but must be prepared to leave on short notice.

A wildfire, covering more than 16,880 hectares, continues to burn about eight kilometres north of the town, around 220 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Around 4,000 Albertans have been forced to evacuate their homes. Thousands more have been put on evacuation alert and must be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.

The Kiskatinaw River wildfire, south of Dawson Creek, has now forced the evacuation of 110 civic addresses near the B.C.-Alberta border and closed Highway 52 east.

It's also prompted an evacuation alert in the County of Grande Prairie in Alberta.