Chuckegg Creek wildfire declared extinguished

The Chuckegg Creek wildfire that forced communities across northern Alberta to evacuate last May continued to smoulder until earlier this month.

Victoria Oostendorf, wildfire information officer for the High Level region, issued an update Thursday stating the wildfire was officially extinguished on Oct. 13.

The Chuckegg Creek wildfire was started by a lightning strike on May 12, 2019 and eventually burned through 334,722 hectares of northern Alberta land, displacing thousands of residents and destroying over a dozen homes.

“Thanks to the hard work of wildland firefighters, structural fire departments, First Nations, industry and municipal partners, this wildfire has now been extinguished,” said Oostendorf in the update. “Extinguishing a wildfire of that size and strength is not an easy task, but it is an example of how co-operation between emergency responders and partners can lead to a successful conclusion.”

Oostendorf said firefighters and timber operators spent the last winter extinguishing hot spots and opening access for heavy equipment to work. This past summer, workers continued to extinguish hot spots and aerial observers kept watch for any spots beginning to burn.

She said areas north of Peace River have high volumes of peat moss and woody debris that can continue to burn under layers of snow.

“The wet weather also provided relief, as the region saw heavier than usual amounts of rain. This helped to normalize the area drought conditions that had affected the forest fuels for the past five years,” said Oostendorf.

Last May, the fire forced over 3,000 High Level residents as well as people living in surrounding communities to evacuate to centres across northern Alberta with some people housed in hotels as far south as Edmonton.

Heavy smoke and threat of fire to the community meant residents remained evacuated in camps in La Crete, Peace River, Fort Vermilion and other surrounding communities until early June.

Warnings of evacuations continued throughout the summer but another mass exodus was avoided.

Over a dozen homes on the Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement were destroyed by the fire.