wildfire conditions west of Edmonton have become extreme again.On Friday night, an evacuation order was issued for the town of Edson and much of Yellowhead County.An 11 p.m.
update from the Town of Edson said crews were seeing live embers and fire in Willmore Park, located about five kilometres south of town.“The fire has crossed the (McLeod) River.
If you haven’t evacuated yet, now is the time,” the town said.“Emergency crews are taxed with fire operations and will not be able to respond if you require assistance.”Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara posted a video update to Facebook just after midnight Saturday, saying the situation deteriorated throughout the day.“(Saturday) is not going to be better with more extreme fire behaviour expected,” he said, adding the fire was changing rapidly.“Please look out for one another.
The situation is very serious… Things can be replaced, people cannot.”A late evening update from Alberta Wildfire said the west side of the fire grew by nearly 21 kilometres Friday to the west and northwest.The west side of the fire is burning in predominantly spruce trees, which the province said under these extreme conditions spreads upwards of 35 metres per minute.“Overnight relative humidities are not expected to reduce significantly however the rate of spread will diminish as temperature decreases.”An Alberta Emergency Alert issued around 6:30 p.m.