Several structures burn to the ground at Waterton
The Waterton Lakes National Park Visitors Centre burned to the ground, several nearby ranches were lost and fire activity went beyond the park gates forcing a new series of evacuation orders and local states of emergency.
Overnight Monday into Tuesday, the Kenow Wildfire grew by 50 per cent to roughly 20,000 hectares.
But nine Alberta airtankers, 14 helicopters and 135 firefighters, including about 60 structural firefighters from neighbouring municipalities, continued working Tuesday to protect structures within the perimeter of the Waterton townsite. A change in weather Wednesday may also help the “out-of-control” fire.
“Unfortunately, structures outside the perimeter have been lost, including the visitor centre and several out buildings,” said Premier Rachel Notley, speaking via teleconference from Fort McMurray.
“Crews are working hard to protect houses and other structures there and our latest information is that they have been successful. From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to thank the first responders working around the clock to fight this blaze. I’d like to thank communities affected by the fire for their co-operation in smooth evacuations. Albertans' thoughts are with you.”
Scott Elliot, incident commander on site in Waterton for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, said preparation work led to a successful operation of saving the townsite.
“The firefighters who were on scene, the fire approach, performed excellent work and the townsite was saved,” he said during a media teleconference call Tuesday night. “There was some damage to some structures through town there, but the overall preparation and work that we had done was excellent there last night (Monday) under very challenging conditions.”
“We’ll continue to work diligently to protect the townsite of Waterton,” said Waterton park superintendent Ifan Thomas.
“Parks Canada understands that this is a very difficult situation,” said Natalie Fay, Parks Canada’s emergency management information officer for the Kenow wildfire, speaking to reporters outside the MD of Pincher Creek’s Administration Building Tuesday afternoon.
“The safety of residents, staff and fire crews and the protection of infrastructure in the community of Waterton are Parks Canada's priorities.”
Fay said Monday night’s high winds and critically dry fuels led to the extreme fire behaviour and rapid growth.
“Burning intensified and the fire moved northeast down the Cameron Valley along the Akamina Parkway. Later in the evening, fire became visible from the townsite and then on the north side of Crandell Mountain. The fire began to move north at a high rate of spread through the grasslands along the park’s Entrance Road,” she said.
“Extensive fire protection measures were effective in safeguarding the majority of infrastructure and facilities within the community and at the Prince of Wales hotel. Firefighters worked tirelessly throughout the night to extinguish spot fires, monitor sprinkler protection and protect facilities. High-volume pumps and sprinkler systems, in combination with planning and fuel management done in previous years, ensured the townsite perimetre held.”
Firefighters working within Waterton were relieved Tuesday by a second team who will continue their work with 17 fire trucks on site. Alberta Forestry has an additional 125 firefighters and 23 helicopters on standby, waiting for direction from the incident command team.
"Fire is dynamic; fire changes from moment to moment,” said Leslie Lozinski, a wildfire information officer for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “We had extreme fire behaviour (Monday). We had resources on that fire all night.”
Despite the resources, the Kenow wildfire spread into Cardston County and the Municipal District of Pincher Creek on Tuesday.
A mandatory evacuation was issued late Monday night for a section of the MD of Pincher Creek from South Highway 505 to Waterton Lakes National Park and Castle Mountain Resort. An estimated 150 residences are affected.
As of late Tuesday, there was no evacuation orders for Beaver Mines, Cowley, Lundbreck or the Piikani Nation.