County of Grande Prairie issues evacuation alert due to wildfire
2nd consecutive day that wildfire in county forced people from their homes
A wildfire in the County of Grande Prairie has triggered an evacuation alert, forcing some residents to leave their homes.
RCMP issued a news release shortly before 4:30 p.m. MT Sunday, stating they were evacuating people living just southwest of the City of Grande Prairie, roughly 390 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
About an hour later, the county issued the evacuation alert for all residents who live south of Township Road 710 down to 27th Avenue, and east of Range Road 64 out to Highway 40.
Affected residents need to gather important documents, medication and medical devices, and go to the Pomeroy Hotel in the City of Grande Prairie, the alert says.
Alberta Wildfire estimated the out-of-control fire to span two hectares around 4:30 p.m. But about an hour later, it had grown to 35 hectares, according to the agency's wildfire dashboard.
The fire is burning between Township Road 710 and Highway 40, RCMP said. An alert from the County of Grande Prairie said the flames are past the lake north of Deer Ridge Estates.
Police did not specify how many people were evacuated.
The county and city fire departments responded to the scene, with Alberta Wildfire also assisting, the county's alert said.
This marks two consecutive days where county residents were forced from their homes due to a wildfire.
On Saturday, a fire in the Morgan's Mountain area forced three homes to evacuate.
That fire was deemed under control as of 10 a.m. Sunday, according to an update from the county.
With files from Nicholas Frew