Meteorologist offers some optimism as rain falls on some Alberta wildfires
CBC
A change in weather conditions Sunday could dampen the wildfires that have forced thousands of Albertans to flee their homes this past week, says a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
"We did see some much needed rain overnight last night, actually, primarily to the north and west of Edmonton is where we did see the heaviest rain," Erin Staunton said in an interview with CBC on Sunday.
Overnight Saturday into Sunday morning, five to 12 millimetres of rain was recorded in some of most affected areas such as Edson, Hinton and Jasper.
Scattered showers are expected to continue throughout Sunday afternoon, with some heavy localized rainfall of between five to 10 millimetres.
"Unfortunately, it won't be quite the widespread heavy rain that we really need through the area," Staunton said.
Officials from Alberta Emergency Management Agency and Alberta Wildfire will provide an update on the Alberta wildfire situation at 3:30 p.m. MT. CBC will carry the news conference live here.
The wildfires have forced more than 24,000 Albertans from their homes.
On Saturday, the province declared a provincial state of emergency.
Declaring a state of emergency is a legal mechanism that provides the provincial government with a higher level of intergovernmental co-ordination by working with municipalities, organizations and businesses to support evacuated residents.
It also allows around-the-clock monitoring of the situation, access to emergency discretionary funds and the ability to mobilize additional support.
Alberta Wildfire's dashboard shows that there are about 110 active wildfires across the province with 31 wildfires deemed as out-of-control.
Premier Danielle Smith visited evacuees at the Edmonton Expo Centre on Sunday morning.
Smith said her team has been in contact with the Prime Minister's Office, with plans to speak to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau within the next 24 hours.
"We know that potentially there's some military supports that they can offer. We're going to see if they have any firefighting expertise," Smith said in an interview with CBC.
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