County of Grande Prairie Wildfire Evening Update – May 15th

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Courtesy of the County of Grande Prairie:

Dunes West Wildfire Update #28 | 9:45 p.m. | High Winds and Fire Protection Systems Evaluation
Overnight winds of 50 km/hr are forecasted and will serve as a critical evaluation of the fire protection systems we have implemented to protect our community and infrastructure.
Crews will closely monitor the situation using low level thermal imaging overnight and GPREP will have all necessary resources on standby, ready to respond to keep our community safe.
➡️ Current high temperatures paired with gusting winds forecasted later this evening are anticipated to provide challenging conditions for crews.
➡️ The wildfire continues to burn out of control at an estimated 1,581 hectares. A fire guard is in place around the entire fire perimeter. Fire Operations focused on the Spring Creek area today, as well as hot spots throughout the evacuation area.
➡️ Although the Wapiti Nordic Trails are outside of the evacuation ORDER, residents on the west side of the trails remain under evacuation ORDER. This is due to the structural protection units on properties, it is unsafe for residents to access their homes until these units are removed. The next 24 hours will be critical and will determine the timeline for when residents MAY be able to return home. Life safety remains our priority. Increased security patrols are being conducted within all areas.
➡️ Additional evacuation orders located in the County were adjusted to evacuation alerts on Sunday, May 14. Visit GPREP.ca for more information on these areas.
Residents are reminded to stay alert and report any wildfires as quickly as possible to 310-FIRE (3473).
See more in the latest update here: https://loom.ly/UJRIgPY