Fires are raging on in the areas of Valhalla and near Teepee Creek in the County of Grande Prairie, leading to the evacuation of 17 homes as of the evening of May 10th.
County Fire Chief Trevor Grant says the fire near Teepee Creek is still burning “substantially” at around 400 hectares in size, leading to the evacuation of more than a dozen homes and another 90 being placed on alert.
“We’re really focusing on doing structural protection, protecting any homes that may be in the area and making sure that we have people out of the way,” he says.
Unfavourable wind conditions have presented a challenge to the crews on scene and Chief Grant says containment and structure protection is a high priority for his crews.
“It’s still exhibiting extreme fire behaviour, we’re just trying to do some containment on the sides, but we just can’t get in front of it because of the extreme fire behaviour,” he says. “Today’s burning conditions were really extreme, the winds were gusting in that 70 kilometre per hour range, it was definitely pushing it.”
In Valhalla, the blaze was last measured at approximately 130 hectares in size and dozers and wet lines have been deployed with a focus on establishing a perimeter and protecting homes around the flames.
“I don’t think we’ve seen any significant growth in the last two hours,” Grant says.
The Fire Chief adds that weather conditions are not looking favourable for crews throughout the weekend with continued hot, dry weather on the 11th.
“The weather conditions tomorrow are looking very similar to today, not quite as extreme winds but everything is just so dry it’s going to be a challenge for our firefighters for sure.”
Chief Grant says he is urging all residents to remain mindful of any activities that could lead to a spark as the region remains quite dry, and is reminding all residents that a fire ban is still in place for the region.
