Fire rips through Métis village in northern Alberta
The ground of a Métis settlement east of Grande Prairie, Alta., is charred black, electrical poles look like matchsticks and 14 homes were consumed by the inferno.
“That fire, I call it the devil. I've never seen a fire like that in my life,” said Raymond Supernault, chair of the East Prairie Métis Settlement.
“I never seen a fire like that come that quick and fast and go through the settlement and burn everything in its sight.”
The settlement remains at risk as hot and dry conditions in Alberta's forecast threaten to worsen an already intense wildfire season.
Around 80 per cent of the community was touched by the blaze in some way or another. It's an overwhelming loss for the community of around 300, Supernault said.
Family pictures, heirlooms and important history for the Métis families turned into ash. A bridge needed by some families to return home was also destroyed.
The settlement and many like it in northern Alberta are still threatened by the wildfires. Temperatures in the high 20s and low- to mid30s are expected in some areas over the coming days, with daytime highs soaring up to 15 degrees above normal.
“That's going to be hot. The fires will start rising again,” Supernault said. “That's the scary part.”
There were 74 active wildfires in the province around midday Friday, including 20 out of control.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was in Grande Prairie on Friday surveying the fire zone and meeting with local officials and Indigenous leaders.
About 300 members of the Canadian Armed Forces are being deployed to help battle the blazes over the next few days. About 100 of those soldiers will be sent to the area around Grand Prairie and the settlement.
The help will be a reprieve for community members after the fire rapidly tore through the East Prairie Métis Settlement a week ago.
People were given an hour to flee. Within about seven hours, the community was destroyed, Supernault said.
A provincial state of emergency was put in place the following day.
Some community members stayed behind to save what they could. The settlement has a long history of firefighting. Supernault said they are also slashers, equipment operators and truck drivers who had skills to save as many homes as possible.
“We always fought fire growing up, that used to be our source of work,” said Brad Desjarlais, who stayed behind to help.
The spruce, muskeg, poplar trees and dry grass lit up quickly as locals did what they could on the ground to keep the flames away from homes, Desjarlais explained.