keehah
15th May 2011, 11:25 PM
Hundreds of buildings burn down in Slave Lake Alta. forest fires (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/prairies/hundreds-of-buildings-burn-down-in-slave-lake-alta-forest-fires/article2022761/)
JOSH WINGROVE EDMONTON— Globe and Mail Sunday, May. 15, 2011 3:06PM EDT
After a day of caution over two encroaching wildfires, the winds picked up and brought chaos and destruction to Slave Lake.
Wind gusts that accelerated the advance of fires and grounded water bombers Sunday afternoon allowed the fire to jump two highways. Afterwards, it was free to tear through the Alberta town of 7,000 people. A long list of hundreds of buildings have burned down – including city hall, the police station, the radio station and countless houses – and the town has brought in a mandatory evacuation. The fires appear out of control.
Also (http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110515/edm_slavelake_110515/20110515/?hub=EdmontonHome)- The town's high school, library, and the main mall have all burned to the ground. The hospital was evacuated as it's in danger of catching fire. A local hotel is being used as a temporary hospital.
Meanwhile, flames still block all but one road out of town, trapping many residents in the town and leaving officials to, at first, urge people to simply flee to wide open parking lots or beaches, and hope the fire doesn’t reach them. Now, they’re being told to get out. Traffic along the one highway was slow, as residents navigated through thick smoke amid waning daylight Sunday evening.
The town was also in the middle of a communications meltdown. Cell phone service was spotty at best, the power kept going out, and the local radio station, which had been broadcasting emergency updates, lost its signal to a power outage long before it burned down.
“I tell you the situation there is critical. It’s very critical. We’re doing everything we can,” said Mel Knight, Alberta’s Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, who oversees forest fire response.
There were no reports of injury, but information was slow to be released Sunday evening. Town officials had communicated largely through the community’s website, but it stopped updating after the town hall burned down.
http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/archive/01275/Townhall_1275795cl-8.jpg
[City Hall]
“Fire has breached the town of Slave Lake boundary along the southern portion. Please move towards large green areas, beaches or large parking lots like Walmart, Canadian Tire, or the Sawridge Mall parking lot,” an earlier notice posted on Sunday evening said.
“We are landlocked at the moment,” Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee said in a text message earlier in the evening.
Thousands of evacuees headed to nearby communities – many also under a fire threat, though a lesser one - to stay with family.
“The winds just keep fanning it hotter and hotter and hotter, and the wind’s not slowing down,” said Mandy Jeworski, 27, who fled her home west of Slave Lake Sunday afternoon. “I’m scared for the people that are in Slave Lake right now.”
About 200 firefighters are in the town, but they’re handcuffed by circumstance – much of the heavy equipment crews use to fight forest fires is ineffective in an urban setting, and the winds are gusting up to 100 km/h, too strong for water bomber airplanes. The town put in place a water ban to try to maximize fire crews’ local water supply.
Local residents were expressing frustration online that officials didn’t try to evacuate sooner. Officials say it was just a matter of the winds changing.
“We kind of thought the thing was getting under control. We thought we had a good start on getting a handle on that particular fire. What happened this afternoon is the winds picked up,” Mr. Knight said, adding: “The best efforts we could put forward with the aircraft grounded just wasn’t enough to maintain a fire guard.”
Slave Lake, a town of about 7,000 located 250 kilometres north of Edmonton, was the epicentre of a sudden spate of forest fires that erupted across the province over the weekend. The high winds spread the flames quickly, leaving officials little time for preparation.
http://thetyee.ca/CanadianPress/2011/05/16/Alta-Fires-6857982/
Getting out of town on Sunday evening wasn't easy, according to one Slave Lake resident, who said the lineup of vehicles was long.
"It's crazy," said Scott, who didn't want his last name used. "We've seen a whole lot of vehicles go to the west and then get redirected back to the east."
He said the lineup to head east on Highway 2 stretched so far that it was several kilometres to the west of the town. So he said he was staying put in a parking lot to conserve gas until it was absolutely necessary.
"As long as my family and I am here, we're safe," he said, noting a black cloud covered the town.
JOSH WINGROVE EDMONTON— Globe and Mail Sunday, May. 15, 2011 3:06PM EDT
After a day of caution over two encroaching wildfires, the winds picked up and brought chaos and destruction to Slave Lake.
Wind gusts that accelerated the advance of fires and grounded water bombers Sunday afternoon allowed the fire to jump two highways. Afterwards, it was free to tear through the Alberta town of 7,000 people. A long list of hundreds of buildings have burned down – including city hall, the police station, the radio station and countless houses – and the town has brought in a mandatory evacuation. The fires appear out of control.
Also (http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110515/edm_slavelake_110515/20110515/?hub=EdmontonHome)- The town's high school, library, and the main mall have all burned to the ground. The hospital was evacuated as it's in danger of catching fire. A local hotel is being used as a temporary hospital.
Meanwhile, flames still block all but one road out of town, trapping many residents in the town and leaving officials to, at first, urge people to simply flee to wide open parking lots or beaches, and hope the fire doesn’t reach them. Now, they’re being told to get out. Traffic along the one highway was slow, as residents navigated through thick smoke amid waning daylight Sunday evening.
The town was also in the middle of a communications meltdown. Cell phone service was spotty at best, the power kept going out, and the local radio station, which had been broadcasting emergency updates, lost its signal to a power outage long before it burned down.
“I tell you the situation there is critical. It’s very critical. We’re doing everything we can,” said Mel Knight, Alberta’s Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, who oversees forest fire response.
There were no reports of injury, but information was slow to be released Sunday evening. Town officials had communicated largely through the community’s website, but it stopped updating after the town hall burned down.
http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/archive/01275/Townhall_1275795cl-8.jpg
[City Hall]
“Fire has breached the town of Slave Lake boundary along the southern portion. Please move towards large green areas, beaches or large parking lots like Walmart, Canadian Tire, or the Sawridge Mall parking lot,” an earlier notice posted on Sunday evening said.
“We are landlocked at the moment,” Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee said in a text message earlier in the evening.
Thousands of evacuees headed to nearby communities – many also under a fire threat, though a lesser one - to stay with family.
“The winds just keep fanning it hotter and hotter and hotter, and the wind’s not slowing down,” said Mandy Jeworski, 27, who fled her home west of Slave Lake Sunday afternoon. “I’m scared for the people that are in Slave Lake right now.”
About 200 firefighters are in the town, but they’re handcuffed by circumstance – much of the heavy equipment crews use to fight forest fires is ineffective in an urban setting, and the winds are gusting up to 100 km/h, too strong for water bomber airplanes. The town put in place a water ban to try to maximize fire crews’ local water supply.
Local residents were expressing frustration online that officials didn’t try to evacuate sooner. Officials say it was just a matter of the winds changing.
“We kind of thought the thing was getting under control. We thought we had a good start on getting a handle on that particular fire. What happened this afternoon is the winds picked up,” Mr. Knight said, adding: “The best efforts we could put forward with the aircraft grounded just wasn’t enough to maintain a fire guard.”
Slave Lake, a town of about 7,000 located 250 kilometres north of Edmonton, was the epicentre of a sudden spate of forest fires that erupted across the province over the weekend. The high winds spread the flames quickly, leaving officials little time for preparation.
http://thetyee.ca/CanadianPress/2011/05/16/Alta-Fires-6857982/
Getting out of town on Sunday evening wasn't easy, according to one Slave Lake resident, who said the lineup of vehicles was long.
"It's crazy," said Scott, who didn't want his last name used. "We've seen a whole lot of vehicles go to the west and then get redirected back to the east."
He said the lineup to head east on Highway 2 stretched so far that it was several kilometres to the west of the town. So he said he was staying put in a parking lot to conserve gas until it was absolutely necessary.
"As long as my family and I am here, we're safe," he said, noting a black cloud covered the town.