Wildfire in Leduc County contained

A wildfire burning west of the town of Devon on Saturday is now contained. 

“Luckily no firefighters were hurt, no homeowners were hurt,” said Leduc County fire chief Keven Lefebvre.

Crews were able to contain the fire by Saturday evening and remained on scene overnight and on Sunday to maintain fire breaks, watch for flare ups and deal with hot spots.

With the high winds and hot temperatures, Lefebvre says it could’ve been much worse.

“Not too far north of us here is the North Saskatchewan River, but if the fire gets that strong in the high winds we’ve had, it could cross the river,” he said.

“Not unlike other fires we’ve had in the past, the flying embers can be carried quite a ways in the wind and start a secondary fire downwind and then, you know, you’re playing catch up for a long time.”

A fire in Smoke can be seen from a fire in Leduc County that prompted an evacuation order Saturday. (Source: Leduc County Fire Services)

An evacuation order was issued Saturday, impacting about 12 homes from Township Road 504 north to the North Saskatchewan River between Range Road 270 and Range Road 265.

The order doesn’t include the nearby Town of Devon, but one resident there was getting ready to leave just in case.

“We put the fifth wheel hitch back in the truck and loaded up some things in the trailer,” Brandy Carty said.

“If we didn’t have everything ready, it would have been chaos trying to get all the kids and all the animals.”

The mayor of Devon hopes his town will never have to evacuate, but says plans are in place.

“Do we have buses lined up? Do we have buildings for them to go to? Do we have a community? So that’s what we’re working on,” Jeff Craddock said.

With the fire contained and crews on scene to monitor conditions, the evacuation order for area residents was lifted Sunday night. 

Officials say the wildfire in Leduc County is believed to be human-caused.

“You have to think everytime you strike a match, is it your livelihood, your family, your property that you’re putting at risk?” Craddock said.

It’s also prompting a strong message from the fire chief.

“It’s amazing that even two weeks into a province-wide fire ban, people are still thinking that it’s not going to affect them and that it’s okay to burn their garbage or it’s okay to have a bonfire or fire pit. And I mean, it’s exhausting for our firefighters,” Lefebvre said.