Three communities in northern Alberta will welcome home residents displaced by wildfires. For some, it’s been almost a month since they left. Evacuation orders for Red Earth Creek and Loon River First Nation will be lifted on Wednesday. Red Earth Creek was evacuated on May 28 and Loon Lake was evacuated early the next day. To the west, Saddle Hills County lifted its evacuation order on Tuesday for the Blueberry Mountain area. It was first issued on June 13. An evacuation alert remains in effect for returning residents in all three communities. Evacuation orders remained in effect for Chipewyan Lake, Peerless Lake and Trout Lake due the Red Earth East fire complex, which is made up of 10 wildfires in the Slave Lake forest area. Those communities were all evacuated at the end of May. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 51 wildfires burning in Alberta’s forest protection areas, with 18 classified as out of control. The province said recent rainfall in central Alberta has assisted firefighting efforts but conditions remain dry and warm in the north. A fire ban was in effect for the entire northernmost part of the province. The most up-to-date information can be found on the Alberta Fire Bans website.
