Alberta wildfire forces thousands to evacuate northern community

A First Nation in northern Alberta was evacuated starting Wednesday night as it was threatened by a wildfire burning out of control 500 kilometers north of Edmonton. The fire, located near Fox Lake, is nearly 4,400 hectares in size as of Thursday, according to Alberta Wildfire.

The evacuation efforts were slow as the only way in and out of Little Red River Cree Nation is a small barge. A line of 600 people was waiting to cross the Peace River at its busiest moment, according to Chief Conroy Sewepagaham.

Around 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, Sewepagaham said the barge was close to being burned and said all workers helping to evacuate residents needed to leave.

An hour later, he posted a plea to social media for those with boats to cross the river and help bring about 100 remaining residents to safety. Sewepagaham said a “skeleton crew” was working to rescue the remaining residents.

Global's Sarah Ryan reports.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/9674136/northern-alberta-wildfire-evacuation-may-4/

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