Smoke clouds northern Alberta as wildfires burn near Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie
CBC
Air quality in much of northern Alberta worsened overnight, as wildfires burn near Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray.
Environment and Climate Change Canada's air quality health index calculates how safe the air is for one's health.
On Saturday, the index shows wildfire smoke has created "very high risk" levels in Grande Prairie, Peace River, Fort McMurray and the Edmonton metropolitan area.
There were 53 total active wildfires burning throughout the province as of 1 p.m. MT Saturday, including three deemed out of control, according to Alberta Wildfire.
An out-of-control fire burning southwest of Fort McMurray, which started Thursday, has grown to about 1,500 hectares. Melissa Story, a spokesperson with Alberta Wildfire, said windy and hot conditions fuelled the fire Friday.
"It grew pretty significantly yesterday and we are back in action today," Story said Saturday
Firefighters are trying to create a containment line on the fire's east side, which will act as a guard for Fort McMurray, she said.
Winds are expected to die down this afternoon, she added.
An evacuation alert was issued Friday night for Fort McMurray and Saprae Creek, in northeastern Alberta — meaning residents should be prepared to evacuate. The alert remains in place.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo issued an additional evacuation alert around 3 p.m. Saturday for Gregoire Lake Estates, Fort McMurray First Nation #468 and Anzac.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo posted on social media Saturday afternoon they anticipate Highway 63 will be impacted by wildfire activity later in the day, resulting in a temporary closure south of the Highway 63 and 881 junction.
It is not believed Highway 881 will be immediately impacted, meaning access to Fort McMurray will not be impeded.
In Grande Prairie County, in northwest Alberta, another out-of-control wildfire is burning about 14 kilometres north of Valhalla, Alta. Story said it's estimated to be 130 hectares.
"We do have crews on the ground that are looking to enforce the containment lines that were done overnight," she said, adding that firefighters worked around the clock with heavy equipment to try to build a fire guard.
If Allan Speight wants to make a phone call, he has to drive about eight kilometres down the road to the Welsford Irving gas station.
Quebec’s third-largest city is switching from weekly garbage and recycling collection to every two weeks in a cost-saving move it says is better for the environment. But the plan is getting mixed reaction from residents and opposition councillors.
If you’re driving through rural Manitoba next summer, you might not see a big increase in the number of golden flowering fields adjacent to the highways, according to some provincial canola producers.
Saskatchewan RCMP say a drone was instrumental when two people needed rescue from a forested area on a dark night in frigid temperatures.
Lori Cheverie has received her fair share of teasing for always having her nose in a book — but for the next few months, that habit will serve a greater purpose, one that goes beyond the love of reading.
Hundreds of Kashechewan First Nation evacuees have arrived in Niagara Falls, one of the Ontario cities taking in people from the Cree community as it endures a weeks-long water crisis due to a damaged treatment plant.
Windsor-based Dainty Foods to separate Canadian, American production as it launches new product line
A Windsor-based company that’s known for its rice products has just launched a new line of pasta side dishes.
According to polling by the Environics Institute, 70 per cent of Canadians are either very or somewhat satisfied with "the way democracy works in Canada."
A plan to partially demolish a 139-year-old church has set off an uproar in a Cabbagetown neighbourhood.
A 33-year-old man has died after being shot by police in Brantford, Ont., Friday morning, the province's police watchdog says.
A Whitehorse resident says gaps in the hospital system are affecting continuity of care – and he has 2,000 pages of documentation to prove it.
A Newfoundland and Labrador judge postponed a decision Friday about whether a man charged with three attempted murders is fit to stand trial, in a case where the accused's family says the health-care system failed him and his alleged victims.
A doctor in Nova Scotia's Pictou County has been handed a professional reprimand for the way he treated a 30-year-old woman who died after being admitted to the Aberdeen Regional Hospital in New Glasgow, N.S., in August 2023.