By Canadian Press

More than 13,000 people forced from homes as wildfires burn across Alberta

May 5, 2023 | 11:15 AM

Alberta emergency officials say more than 13,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes as 78 wildfires burn across the province — 19 of them out of control. 

An out-of-control 1,500-hectare wildfire has caused thousands of people to flee Drayton Valley, Alta., and the surrounding rural area

An evacuation order was issued Thursday night instructing more than 7,000 residents to leave the town about 140 kilometres west of Edmonton.

Evacuees are to go to Edmonton and register at the Expo Centre.

In the north of the province, the Alberta government says a 4,400-hectare wildfire has destroyed 20 homes, an RCMP detachment and a store in the community of Fox Lake.

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In a video posted to Facebook on Thursday night, the chief of Little Red River Cree Nation said he believed everyone got out of the remote community about 550 kilometres north of Edmonton.

Residents were taken out by boats and a barge.

Christie Tucker with Alberta Wildfire says the province assisted with the evacuation of 115 people by helicopter from Fox Lake.

The communities of John D’Or Prairie, High Level and the Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement are supporting evacuees.

Most of central Alberta is under a fire ban after a period of windy and unseasonably hot conditions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2023.

The Canadian Press