Area firefighters have joined the fight against the raging out-of-control wildfire south of High Level.
Firefighters from the Penhold Fire Department, who are joining firefighters from Innisfail and Red Deer County, has had eight firefighters at the scene since last Sunday, including Chief Jim Pendergast, who is returning home with two others today (May 23). On Sunday, there will be a crew change with five new Penhold firefighters replacing the five still at the scene.
Pendergast said Penhold's firefighters are in the "thick of the action" in their efforts to battle the area's Chuckegg Creek fire, now just about three kilometres southwest of High Level and covering a total area of about 92,000 hectares.
"It's very dangerous, yes," said Pendergast, of the wildfire that forced the evacuation of more than 5,000 High Level and region residents since the long weekend. "It's at the highest level you can get. That's the way it has been since we got here, a (rating) of five or six."
He said his firefighters have been working 18 hours a day, taking only a five or six-hour break each night but remaining on stand-by in case they are needed.
