Nearly half of northern Alberta community destroyed as wildfires flare

As Albertans forced out by wildfires are being allowed to return home, other evacuees are learning their homes have been lost to the flames. 

During what has proven to be a devastating wildfire season across western Canada, the remote community of Chipewyan Lake has been among the hardest hit in Alberta in terms of damage to infrastructure. 

Close to half of the buildings in the small community, nestled in the boreal forests of northern Alberta about 450 kilometres north of Edmonton, have been destroyed.  

A wildfire swept through the remote community last week, hours after it was evacuated. 

Questions remain about how and when the community can rebuild, and where its 100 residents will live during the long recovery ahead. 

Chipewyan Lake lost some of its most critical community buildings, local emergency management officials with Bigstone Cree Nation and the MD of Opportunity No. 17 said Tuesday. 

Flyovers of the community show 38 structures and nine sheds destroyed.  An additional 10 buildings have been damaged, while 38 structures appear intact.

Marcel Auger, reeve of the municipal district, said an aerial assessment was completed by forestry officials on June 1. Ground surveys of the damaged buildings began Tuesday 

"The information is still not 100 per cent accurate until we have a boots-on-the-ground assessment completed," he said. 

"We will need to complete assessments of the community. We will also need to conduct a major cleanup and rebuild damaged infrastructure." 

The destroyed buildings include the Bigstone Health Centre, a local church and the community's water treatment plant — as well as homes and sheds. 

An aerial map released Wednesday shows the flames breached the community's sole entrance road before ripping through the heart of its streets, overlooking the southwest edge of the lake.  Red dots, representing complete losses, dot the map.

A wall of flames tore through the community on the evening of May 29, temporarily trapping eight firefighters overnight when their dispatch radios failed. The flames flared, consuming buildings and toppling trees, blocking the only road out. 

The firefighters were forced to take shelter overnight in a local school and fire hall before a rescue crew could cut a path through the downed trees.