Residents in the Town of Valleyview and surrounding area were put on an evacuation alert as of 2:29 p.m. Sunday, due to the Sturgeon Lake Complex fires continuing to burn west and northwest of the town. The evacuation alert is in effect for those living in the area of Highway 49 from Range Road 222 south to Township Road 700, west to range road 230, and north to township road 710. Range Roade According to the MD of Greenview’s Emergency Operations Wildfire Update as of 9:00 p.m. Sunday the Sturgeon Lake fire is approximately 3,765 while the Little Puskwaska fire is estimated to be around 1,189 hectares in size. As of Sunday night guard construction around the fire was nearly complete and more crews are expected from Ontario and parts of the United States, with indicators predicting an increase in the fire in the coming days.
The Eagle Wildfire, located between Fox Creek and Little Smoky increased to approximately 30,654 hectares in size over the weekend, and as of Sunday night was 14 kilometres southeast of the Hamlet of Little Smoky. According to MD officials, the fire’s northwest side had grown. Crews continued to work on building fireguards to keep it from spreading, while air tankers and helicopter crews work on the fire. Additional crews are expected Monday to help assist, in addition to the crews from Oregon, Cypress Hills and Quebec.
According to officials, the Crooked Lake Fire southwest of Little Smoky “quickly grew” over the weekend, and according to Alberta Wildfire is an estimated 5,500 hectares in size. Sunday night’s update from the provincial organization explains the fire is “an active crown fire burning in continuous spruce and pine fuel type.” Due to safety concerns, suppression teams were pulled off the fire at noon on Sunday. Heavy equipment will be sent to fight this fire as officials expect it to grow in the coming days.