Province probing reports of late evacuation alert on smartphones
Some residents claim that notifications during Kenow wildfire came far too late
Alberta Municipal Affairs is investigating reports from some residents in the area of the Kenow wildfire that there were delays in receiving emergency alerts on their phones during evacuations in the region earlier this week.
“We are aware of some concerns regarding possible delays in the transmission of Alberta Emergency Alerts through the mobile phone app,” Municipal Affairs Minister Shaye Anderson said in a statement.
“Alberta Municipal Affairs is actively investigating these concerns and will take steps to rectify any technical issues should they be identified.”
Residents in the southern portion of the Municipal District of Pincher Creek and Cardston County were roused from their sleep and told to evacuate as flames from the Kenow wildfire burst north out of Waterton Lakes National Park and into outlying areas late Monday night.
According to the Alberta Emergency Alert website and smartphone app — a service of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency under Municipal Affairs — the extreme southern tip of the MD of Pincher Creek was put on a voluntary evacuation notice at 10:15 p.m. Monday evening.
That was upgraded to a mandatory evacuation alert 12 minutes later, with Cardston County following suit at 11:44 p.m. and the southeastern portions of the Blood reserve a little after 4 a.m.
At a landowner meeting Friday evening in nearby Twin Butte, officials told attendees the province’s emergency alert smartphone app would let them know when any evacuation orders were issued.
Some residents have said official orders to evacuate came far too late — in some cases well after police came banging on their door.
Jim Garner, a rancher just north of the Waterton park boundary in Cardston County, was relying on official releases from Parks Canada Monday evening to track the fire’s size and direction.
Assured the fire was still too distant to be a concern, he described to Postmedia his surprise upon seeing fire moving toward his property.
“Then I see this wall of fire coming at our ranch,” he said. “I mean, where the hell did this come from?”
It wasn’t until he’d gathered his family and fled along Hwy. 5 that the official evacuation order was issued.
He wants to see a public inquiry held into the fire and communication from authorities.
Anderson said the province is committed to offering emergency alerts on multiple platforms, including the mobile app, Facebook and Twitter.
“Alberta Emergency Management also works closely with television and radio broadcasters to ensure alerts are disseminated as quickly as possible,” he said.
Anderson added Alberta is the only province with a mobile app for emergency alerts.
“We will continue to assess our systems to ensure they are serving Albertans in providing timely and helpful information when threatened by an emergency,” he said.
Premier Rachel Notley told reporters during a news conference near Fort McMurray Wednesday that she’s happy people got out of the area safely.
“One of the things that happens with certain types of fires, particularly when you’re looking at grass fires and where they’re dependent on wind, is you can’t predict everything,” she said.
“So, what you do is you work with the best evidence, the best science and you do everything you can to get people out.”
Pat Stier, the MLA for Livingstone-Macleod, called the blaze “a Goliath of a fire.”
“As it came along with those big winds, things change so fast, so quick,” he said.
“I was driving through Claresholm and bam, suddenly there was a huge northwest wind coming in and it was hard and fast.”
According to information posted on the Alberta Emergency Alert website, public alerts can only be issued by emergency officials, local and First Nations government officials, and certain provincial and federal government departments, including Alberta Environment, the Alberta Emergency Management Agency and Environment Canada.
We will continue to assess our systems to ensure they are ... providing timely and helpful information.