Nearly the entire population of High Level was safely evacuated on Monday, as an out of control fire continues to swirl south of the town lines.
The fire, which had ripped through over 69,000 hectares of land by Saturday evening, remains on the extremely high end of the scale.
“On the fire intensity scale of 1-6, the High Level fire is currently assessed to be a six. Meaning the fire is jumping from crown to crown of trees,” says Premier Jason Kenney.
Government officials say only first responders, medical personnel and a handful of authorized individuals, including grocery store employees remain in the area to help keep emergency responders fed.
Premier Kenney says those who have left must make sure to go through the proper channels to help make information sharing easier for everyone.
“For those residents who have had to leave their homes, we ask that you please register at reception centres. Even if you’re not staying there and are choosing to stay with friends, family or are camping, we want to be able to able to communicate directly with you.”
Those evacuees include three who made the trip to the Grande Prairie Regional College.
The province says the majority of those who were forced out of their homes went to evacuation centres in Slave Lake, La Crête and High Prairie.