Close X
Friday, November 22, 2024
ADVT 
National

Northern Alberta residents start returning home after evacuation due to fires

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 03 Jun, 2019 10:14 PM

    Some residents in northern Alberta have started to return home after wildfires forced them to leave their communities two weeks ago.

    An evacuation order was lifted for residents of High Level, the surrounding areas of Mackenzie County and the Dene Tha' First Nation communities of Bushe River, Meander River and Chateh.

    Officials say the 4,000 people who are allowed to return home remain on evacuation alert and should be prepared to leave on short notice if conditions change.

    The last recorded size of the Chuckegg Creek fire near High Level was about 2,800 square kilometres.

    The Alberta government also announced that schools in the Fort Vermilion School Division will be closed for the rest of the year.

    Education Minister Adriana LaGrange says it's related to the wildfires and the school's ventilation systems.

    "An inspection by the school division's insurance holder has indicated that all of the schools need to be professionally cleaned," she said in a news release Monday.

    "The safety of students is my No. 1 priority. This closure will give them one less thing to worry about and help them focus on being with their families during this difficult time."

    Another fire still has the town of Slave Lake on evacuation alert. A quickly moving wildfire in 2011 destroyed nearly one-third of that community.

    Mandatory evacuation orders remain in place for Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement, some communities in the County of Northern Lights, Bigstone Cree Nation, parts of the municipal district of Opportunity, and several other hamlets and First Nations in northern Alberta.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Procurement Minister Defends Rule Change For F-35 As Necessary For Competition

    Procurement Minister Defends Rule Change For F-35 As Necessary For Competition
    Federal procurement minister Carla Qualtrough is defending the government's plan to loosen procurement rules for the F-35 in the face of questions and concerns from companies that make competing fighter jets.

    Procurement Minister Defends Rule Change For F-35 As Necessary For Competition

    Vancouver Senior Has Broken Hip, Three Men Flee After Trying To Steal Her Purse

    Vancouver police hope someone can identify the men who knocked an 85-year-old woman to the ground, breaking her hip, as they tried to steal her purse.

    Vancouver Senior Has Broken Hip, Three Men Flee After Trying To Steal Her Purse

    Walk For A Drug And Gang Free Surrey Was A Tremendous Success

    Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) Society hosted its very first Walk for A Drug and Gang Free Surrey from Surrey City Hall to Holland Park on May 18, 2019 from 9 am to 12 pm.    

    Walk For A Drug And Gang Free Surrey Was A Tremendous Success

    Education Minister Calls Out Montreal School For Putting Autistic Kids In Closet

    Education Minister Calls Out Montreal School For Putting Autistic Kids In Closet
    Quebec's education minister called out a Montreal school Tuesday for its reported practice of locking panicking autistic children into a small and unsafe closet to calm them down.

    Education Minister Calls Out Montreal School For Putting Autistic Kids In Closet

    Woman Charged After Allegedly Throwing Bong Water On Ex-Girlfriend

    Woman Charged After Allegedly Throwing Bong Water On Ex-Girlfriend
    KINGSTON, Ont. — An Ontario woman who allegedly threw bong water on her ex-girlfriend during an argument has been charged with assault.

    Woman Charged After Allegedly Throwing Bong Water On Ex-Girlfriend

    'Snowden Refugee' Living In Montreal Calls On Canada To Accept Others

    A refugee who helped shelter whistleblower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong is calling on immigration officials to allow other members of her daughter's family to join her in Canada.

    'Snowden Refugee' Living In Montreal Calls On Canada To Accept Others