Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023 in Ottawa. Smith is set to speak by phone with Trudeau today to discuss possible help for wildfires raging in the province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
EDMONTON – Wildfires raging in Alberta continue to overwhelm some communities and have forced thousands of people from their homes.
More than 40 structures, mostly homes, have been lost on the Little Red River Cree Nation, which includes three communities in northern Alberta.
Darryel Sowan, the emergency management communications co-ordinator, says some 3,700 people left the area quickly after the evacuation order was put in place.
There is no road into the community, so people had to use boats, while higher-risk people were flown out.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is set to speak by phone with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today to discuss the wildfires
So far this year, wildfires have burned about 380,000 hectares across the province.
“Because it’s isolated, a lot of those people have never even been away from the reserve,” Sowan said Monday.
“We want to get them back there and they want to go home. We are trying our best.”
Chief Conroy Sewepagaham posted on social media Monday that officials are planning to do a full assessment of the community.
They will use aerial images to try to see which homes have been damaged or destroyed, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2023.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said more than 25,000 hectares have burned across the province so far this year.
