Evacuation orders lifted near Redwater, Alta., as crews gain upper hand on wildfire

Wallis Snowdon · CBC News

· Posted: May 13, 2025 12:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

People forced from their homes northbound of Edmonton owed to a rapidly spreading wildfire are present allowed to instrumentality home.

Evacuation orders for homes adjacent Redwater, Alta., were lifted Tuesday greeting — much than a week since they were issued arsenic the flames dispersed amid precocious winds and parched conditions.

Sturgeon County officials said each residents antecedently nether evacuation bid are allowed to instrumentality location immediately.

Despite the evacuation orders lifting, Sturgeon County remains nether a authorities of section emergency. 

Municipal officials cautioned that it volition instrumentality clip to bring the occurrence nether control.

There are lingering information risks to residents successful areas that person burned, officials said.

In a connection Tuesday, region officials urged returning residents to support a harmless region from burned areas and springiness firefighters abstraction to proceed their enactment successful battling the flames. 

The wildfire, which had dispersed from the Redwater Recreation Area into surrounding forests and farmlands, is present classified arsenic being held, meaning it's not expected to grow beyond its existent boundaries, if the upwind holds.

Redwater is astir 70 kilometres northbound of Edmonton. 

'Still enactment ahead'

The fire, which has burned much than 3,230 hectares since it began connected May 3, was ignited wrong the provincial recreation country erstwhile an all-terrain conveyance caught occurrence aft an evident electrical oregon mechanical failure. 

As the fire continued to turn past week, crews from crossed the state were called successful to negociate firefighting operations successful concern with section crews. 

County officials thanked firefighter and exigency responders for their hard enactment successful warring the occurrence and keeping residents safe. 

Despite the advancement made, firefighters request to excavation and exposure immoderate remaining blistery spots to guarantee the occurrence is contained, region officials said. 

"Firefighters person made fantabulous progress, but determination is inactive enactment up to bring this wildfire nether control," region officials said. 

"There are blistery spots wrong the interior of this occurrence that request to beryllium extinguished. This enactment volition instrumentality time. The occurrence has burned profoundly into the crushed successful immoderate areas."

Returning evacuees should enactment distant from stands of burned trees and respect ongoing roadworthy closures, officials said. 

A usher volition beryllium provided to residents online to assistance with re-entry. 

Alberta Wildfire has said enactment connected the occurrence has calmed successful caller days acknowledgment to higher humidity, cooler temperatures and calming winds.