MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - Staff at the evacuation reception centre set up in the Water Valley Community Hall in response to the nearby ongoing wildfire in the Municipal District (MD) of Bighorn have been fielding questions from landowners about the fire’s status, says Ryan Morrison, director of emergency management with Mountain View County.
“We’ve had about 50 or so people come in to today trying to get information,” Morrison told the Albertan from the site Wednesday afternoon. “No one is staying here. It’s mostly just landowners looking for information on the status of the wildfire.
“People don’t want to stay in an evacuation centre; they would rather stay with friends and relatives.”
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Lightning is believed to have started a wildfire Tuesday night in the MD 25 kilometres west of Water Valley, an unincorporated community located about eight kilometres west of Highway 22 on Mountain View County's southern border. The fire continues to be listed as out of control and was still approximately 85 hectares in size on Wednesday afternoon.
An area closure and evacuation order is in effect in the immediate area surrounding the fire and an evacuation alert is in effect for residents in the MD of Bighorn west of Water Valley (Doc Mills Road - Range Road 62A, Whispering Pine Road - Township Road 294A and Burnt Timber Road).
Under an evacuation alert, residents should be prepared to evacuate on one hour's notice.
Morrison said staff at the centre are relying on updates from provincial wildfire officials on the status of the fire.
“We are expecting to get another update this afternoon,” he said.
Landowners coming to the centre with concerns about the possible evacuation of livestock are being referred to the agriculture fieldman at the MD of Bighorn in Exshaw, he said.
The Water Valley reception centre was set up by Mountain View County Tuesday night at the request of the MD of Bighorn in response to the wildfire.
The area 25 kilometres west of Water Valley is mostly grazing and pasture lands, with a scattering of ranches, farms and acreages, Morrison noted.
Mountain View County has not brought any firefighting equipment to the evacuation centre, he said.
The centre is expected to be open until 11 p.m. Wednesday or until the MD of Bighorn says it is no longer required, he said.
Morrison and three other county staff members have been working at the centre today, along with one staff member from the MD of Bighorn, he said.
Mountain View County councillor Greg Harris was in attendance at the centre on Tuesday evening.
“We mostly saw Water Valley residents coming in who were curious,” he said. “People were coming to the centre to find out what was going on.”
The MD of Bighorn and the county have a mutual aid agreement to ensure the coordination of emergency responses on the municipalities' boundaries.
