Residents west of Edmonton under evacuation orders due to out-of-control wildfire

Residents of several communities west of Edmonton have been ordered to evacuate their homes due to an encroaching and out-of-control wildfire.

RCMP say due to high winds, a fire in Parkland County is quickly heading west toward the hamlets of Entwistle and Evansburg, two communities about 100 kilometres west of Edmonton. 

Both Parkland County and the neighbouring Yellowhead County have declared a state of local emergency.

Derrick Forsythe, information officer with Alberta Wildfire, said there are technically two fires burning in the area. As of 10 a.m., one of them was 330 hectares and the other was 3,000 hectares.

"With conditions so dry, people should take heed of the notices being sent from the municipality for evacuations to get out of harm's way," he told CBC on Sunday. 

Forsythe said as of 5:30 p.m., there were 40 active wildfires in Alberta. Twelve were new within the last 24 hours.

Brian Cornforth, Parkland County fire chief and incident commander on this wildfire, said it's been a challenging fight so far, mostly because of wind and low relative humidity. 

"We had large fire growth yesterday … We're just working the flanks of this fire to try and narrow it down," he told CBC on Sunday. 

Cornforth said at least one home has been destroyed, as well as some outbuildings. Most people have been evacuated and firefighters are working with RCMP to ensure the safety of everyone.

The cause right now is unknown, Cornforth said.

"Our focus right now is for obviously life and property protection. We'll focus on that and then we'll do a cause and determination later on."

Yellowhead County Mayor Wade Williams also stressed the focus on safety and property protection in an interview Sunday evening.

He estimates about 1,200 people have been evacuated from Yellowhead County. He said about 45 people from the county are working on crews helping to battle the flames, plus some assisting personnel on bulldozers and excavators.

Williams said the county was prepared but "every fire is different." He urged residents to be vigilant to ensure no more fires are started.