(Photo Supplied: A fire west of Chard burned out of control yesterday afternoon. May 26, 2015. Environment and Sustainable Resource Development).
A third oil and gas facility evacuated workers because of a wildfire west of Chard, according to provincial officials. Environment and Sustainable Resource Development says the blaze is out of control at 3,300 hectares. It grew 500 hectares yesterday afternoon because of an “erratic wind event associated with a passing cold front.” Crews pulled back for safety and returned to action when the winds settled down.
“It’s going to travel probably southwest today because we have northeast winds,” says Lac La Biche Fire Information Officer Leslie Lozinski. “So the good thing about that is that it should be pushing the smoke away from Highway 881 and away from the communities of Janvier and Conklin.”
The wildfire is now 16 kilometres west of Janvier and 18 kilometres west of Conklin. It’s just five kilometres west of Highway 881. Officials say they’re not in a situation to consider closing the highway.
“If we felt the fire was travelling towards the highway and would be a threat a public safety we would consult with the RCMP and it’s the RCMP that make the decision to close the road,” said Lozinski.
Yesterday, forestry crews escorted workers to a well site to extinguish a gas fire. Helicopters bucketed the fire all day. Lozinski confirmed a third facility evacuated workers but didn’t have the information about what company it was. She said only a few workers were removed.
Today’s plan is to contain the fire with new dozer guards using ground crews, helicopters and air tankers. More than 60 firefighters, staff and equipment operators are battling the fire. ESRD is dispatching a “heavy” helicopter to the scene. The sky crane has a 2,000 gallon water/foam tank that fills in 40 seconds.
