New evacuation alert issued for Kiskatinaw River wildfire in County of Grande Prairie

GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALTA — A new evacuation alert has been issued by the County of Grande Prairie due to the Kiskatinaw River wildfire. 

According to a Facebook post at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 27th, the following areas have been put on an evacuation alert:

• North of Township Road 714 to Township Road 734

• East of the British Columbia/Alberta border to Range Road 131

An evacuation alert means those affected to not have to leave yet, but must prepare themselves and their livestock to leave with as little as 30 minutes’ notice. 

The Kiskatinaw River wildfire – which is in both B.C. and Alberta, south of Dawson Creek – ignited in late May and prompted various evacuation notices to be issued on both sides of the border earlier this month. 

However, as temperatures cooled and rain swept across the region, the fire was downgraded as no longer ‘of note’ and the orders were lifted.

The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says it currently sits at 26,372 hectares, with 144 crew members tackling the blaze.

The County of Grande Prairie wrote in the post that Alberta Wildfire is assisting the BCWS, and is focusing efforts in priority areas to reinforce containment. It has additional heavy equipment on standby as well.

“Over the past two weeks, significant progress has been made on containment lines,” the post reads. “However, pockets of unburned trees remain within the perimeter, and these areas could support increased fire activity as temperatures rise and wind speed increases.

“While perimeter growth is not anticipated, there is potential for spot fires under these conditions.”