Winds whip up Alberta wildfires as crews work to protect rural homes
EDMONTON - High winds acted like a bellows on Sunday, whipping up a wildfire that crept to within a kilometre of a small community north of Edmonton.
Water bombers, water trucks and crews were attacking a hot spot inside the perimeter of a fire line protecting homes in the evacuated hamlet of Newbrook.
Up to 200 firefighters, including two crews from British Columbia, were toiling in thick smoke supported by more than 100 volunteers bringing them food, water, fuel and other supplies.
"The wind has picked up here. They still have it under control. The hottest area is closest to the town," said Candace Revega, a spokeswoman for the County of Thorhild.
"We would like to give a big thanks to them all."
About 150 Newbrook residents were evacuated from their homes on Friday because of the fire, which has torched about 20 square kilometres of bush. Part of Highway 63 remained closed.
Other people in the area were on standby to leave at a moment's notice if conditions worsen.
Forest fires in remote areas near Slave Lake, Whitecourt and Manning were being held despite the high winds.
Alberta fire crews that were not deployed were on standby to jump on any new fires quickly, said Rob Harris, a provincial wildfire information officer.
"We are definitely keeping our eye on the situation. The potential out there is astronomical. With high winds like this is doesn't take very much for a fire to get out of control very quickly," Harris said.
Late Sunday afternoon firefighters were scrambled to deal with a hectare-sized blaze near Edson that was out of control.
On Friday, the wildfire near Newbrook destroyed two homes in a rural area outside of the hamlet.
Roberta Bibaud said it was devastating to watch her home go up in flames.
"It was pretty scary," she told CTV Edmonton. "There was a big wall of fire behind our house, it funnelled right to our house through spruce trees, so I knew we had no hope - it was get everybody out."
Most important to her, however, was that no one was hurt and volunteers were able to rescue her animals.
"They were instrumental in loading my little filly into the horse trailer," she said, her voice breaking with emotion. "Thank you."
Evelyn Bennett and her family escaped the flames on Friday, but on Saturday fire officials arrived to tell them to pick up and clear out.
An out of control grass fire forced more than 40 people to leave the village of Tadmore, Sask., on Friday night, destroying two abandoned homes and heavily damaging a Canadian National Railway bridge.
Those residents have since returned to their homes. CN has replaced the bridge and put the rail back in service.
In southern Manitoba, officials are still worried about high winds as crews and water bombers fought forest and brush fires.
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