Residents of Sandy Beach, Alta., say they are on edge as a wildfire burns down homes and a local officials issue a state of emergency.
The wildfire alert is in effect for anyone along Lake Shore Drive on the east side of Sandy Lake.
According to a Facebook post by Sturgeon County, the fire has claimed at least three homes and damaged a fourth. No injuries have been reported.
More than 60 firefighters were on scene from multiple jurisdictions, including Morinville, Alexander First Nation, Parland County, and Lac Ste. Anne County.
“Arriving on scene, they found cabins fully engulfed in flames, which were also spreading to trees and surrounding grass”, Chad Morrie, Sturgeon County fire chief and manager of protective services, told Global News on Sunday morning.
“Last night, (crews) finished a dozer guard wrapping around a fire and returning this morning to do a full mop up and see if it’s officially out,” he added.
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The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Morrie said it started in one residence and spread to another.
He confirmed the fire is now contained, but added there are fears the fire situation could change.
Environment Canada is forecasting winds from the northwest at about 40 km/h on Sunday with gusts up to 60 km/h.
Fire officials say that a change in wind direction could spread to Lakeshore Drive and could prompt an evacuation alert.
A fire ban was issued Saturday at around 5:30 p.m. A state of local emergency was declared for the area around 9:30 p.m. that night.
Jonathan Bodnar witnessed the fire.
“The flame actually jumped over and began escalating the smoke into the air and blackened really badly,” he said.
Bodnar also said he’s grateful for the quick response from fire crews.
“Everyone is going to think twice about burning stuff in the backyard. Fires will be limited here for a while.”
Sandy Beach is located about 65 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
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