Latest news with #Hnatiw
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Out-of-control wildfire sparks Sturgeon County to declare local state of emergency
An out-of-control wildfire in Sturgeon County, Alta., has burned down one house, scattered animals and forced residents to standby ready to evacuate. The county issued an evacuation notice Saturday evening, warning residents to prepare to flee in case conditions worsen. Shortly after midnight, the county declared a local state of emergency. "We're just keeping people safe and trying to protect property," Mayor Alanna Hnatiw told CBC Radio's Daybreak Alberta on Sunday. The evacuation notice affects people living around the Redwater Provincial Recreation Area, about 60 kilometres northeast of Edmonton. Late Saturday night, RCMP issued news releases saying officers from multiple departments were responding. Emergency personnel were helping people evacuate, but police didn't specify how many. At 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, the county issued another update, stating the evacuation area includes: Range Road 205 to Victoria Trail; Township 574 to Range Road 205; Township 574 to Range Road 203; South of Township 580 to the North Saskatchewan River; East of Range Road 212 to the North Saskatchewan River. As of 1:30 a.m. Sunday, temporary road closures were implemented around the provincial park. Only county residents are allowed into the area, the county said. Alberta Wildfire estimated the fire to span nearly 390 hectares, according to the agency's dashboard as of 12:45 p.m. In its update Sunday afternoon, the county said three helicopters are part of the fire fight. "If winds can change, situations can change," Hnatiw said. "We just want to be able to allow emergency response to do their jobs, with as minimal barriers as possible." The local state of emergency, she said, allows fire crews to enter property or use equipment needed to respond to the flames. As of early Sunday morning, the fire had not crossed the North Saskatchewan River, to the southeast of the flames, but they had burned down one house, Hnatiw affected area, with a mix of forest and farmland, is not densely populated. But she said there are some cattle and poultry farms. The family whose home burned down was able to evacuate their herd of cattle, Hnatiw said. "Our hearts go out to them," Hnatiw said. "Often, if farms have cattle, they have other animals as well and [we] have yet to find out what has taken place." Hnatiw said she's grateful the family was able to establish a cattle liner. But it's also a sign that wildfires are becoming a common threat for residents. "Losing not just your animals, but your assets, would certainly add to further complication and suffering, to what is, I'm quite sure, already a horrendous loss to the family," Hnatiw said. "We're just grateful that everyone is able to get out safe." Officials from the county's families and community services has contacted the family to support them however they need, she said. The Alberta Wildfire dashboard shows Sturgeon County is under a fire restriction, which bans wood fires on public lands. The fire risk in most of the county, including where the out-of-control fire is burning, is very high. Prescribed burn leads to fire in northwest Alberta An "unexpected wind event" turned a prescribed burn along the Peace River, in northwestern Alberta, into a large out-of-control fire, according to Alberta Wildfire. Late Friday afternoon, wind fanned the flames on the Hutton Creek prescribed fire project, breaking the containment barrier, the agency said in an update at 1:45 p.m. Sunday. Crews are working to put out the fire, which is estimated to span 1,200 hectares. The flames are about 35 kilometres southeast of Manning, Alta., but on the opposite side of the river, the Alberta Wildfire dashboard shows. But in its update Sunday afternoon, Alberta Wildfire said the fire does not pose a threat to nearby communities. The dashboard shows the region is under a fire advisory, which signals an elevated fire risk but doesn't ban any flames other than fireworks and exploding targets. The potential fire danger where it is burning is very high.
CBC
04-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Out-of-control wildfire sparks Sturgeon County to declare local state of emergency
Social Sharing An out-of-control wildfire in Sturgeon County, Alta., has burned down one house, scattered animals and forced residents to standby ready to evacuate. The county issued an evacuation notice Saturday evening, warning residents to prepare to flee in case conditions worsen. Shortly after midnight, the county declared a local state of emergency. "We're just keeping people safe and trying to protect property," Mayor Alanna Hnatiw told CBC Radio's Daybreak Alberta on Sunday. The evacuation notice affects people living around the Redwater Provincial Recreation Area, about 60 kilometres northeast of Edmonton. Late Saturday night, RCMP issued news releases saying officers from multiple departments were responding. Emergency personnel were helping people evacuate, but police didn't specify how many. At 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, the county issued another update, stating the evacuation area includes: Range Road 205 to Victoria Trail; Township 574 to Range Road 205; Township 574 to Range Road 203; South of Township 580 to the North Saskatchewan River; East of Range Road 212 to the North Saskatchewan River. As of 1:30 a.m. Sunday, temporary road closures were implemented around the provincial park. Only county residents are allowed into the area, the county said. Alberta Wildfire estimated the fire to span nearly 390 hectares, according to the agency's dashboard as of 12:45 p.m. In its update Sunday afternoon, the county said three helicopters are part of the fire fight. "If winds can change, situations can change," Hnatiw said. "We just want to be able to allow emergency response to do their jobs, with as minimal barriers as possible." The local state of emergency, she said, allows fire crews to enter property or use equipment needed to respond to the flames. As of early Sunday morning, the fire had not crossed the North Saskatchewan River, to the southeast of the flames, but they had burned down one house, Hnatiw said. The affected area, with a mix of forest and farmland, is not densely populated. But she said there are some cattle and poultry farms. The family whose home burned down was able to evacuate their herd of cattle, Hnatiw said. "Our hearts go out to them," Hnatiw said. "Often, if farms have cattle, they have other animals as well and [we] have yet to find out what has taken place." Hnatiw said she's grateful the family was able to establish a cattle liner. But it's also a sign that wildfires are becoming a common threat for residents. "Losing not just your animals, but your assets, would certainly add to further complication and suffering, to what is, I'm quite sure, already a horrendous loss to the family," Hnatiw said. "We're just grateful that everyone is able to get out safe." Officials from the county's families and community services has contacted the family to support them however they need, she said. The Alberta Wildfire dashboard shows Sturgeon County is under a fire restriction, which bans wood fires on public lands. The fire risk in most of the county, including where the out-of-control fire is burning, is very high. Prescribed burn leads to fire in northwest Alberta An "unexpected wind event" turned a prescribed burn along the Peace River, in northwestern Alberta, into a large out-of-control fire, according to Alberta Wildfire. Late Friday afternoon, wind fanned the flames on the Hutton Creek prescribed fire project, breaking the containment barrier, the agency said in an update at 1:45 p.m. Sunday. Crews are working to put out the fire, which is estimated to span 1,200 hectares. The flames are about 35 kilometres southeast of Manning, Alta., but on the opposite side of the river, the Alberta Wildfire dashboard shows. But in its update Sunday afternoon, Alberta Wildfire said the fire does not pose a threat to nearby communities. The dashboard shows the region is under a fire advisory, which signals an elevated fire risk but doesn't ban any flames other than fireworks and exploding targets. The potential fire danger where it is burning is very high.
CBC
25-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Candlelight vigil to be held in Whitehorse to mark 3 years of war in Ukraine
Social Sharing The Ukrainian Canadian Association of the Yukon is holding a candlelight vigil in Whitehorse on Tuesday to mark three years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "It's coming together, standing strong and being around each other and knowing that with unity there is strength," said Lesia Hnatiw, a board member with the association. The vigil will take place outside of Whitehorse City Hall at 6 p.m. followed by a presentation from the association at the Gold Rush Inn at 7 p.m. Members of the association will be sharing their experiences from their most recent humanitarian mission to Ukraine in November 2024. Hnatiw says the vigil will be both an act of solidarity with Ukraine and a demonstration to call on political leaders to do more to support Ukraine. The association decided to hold the vigil on Tuesday – the day after the three-year anniversary of the war – so it would not conflict with the city council meeting on Monday. The association hopes to see the mayor and councillors at the vigil, supporting Ukraine. "I encourage people to bring Ukrainian flags, to make signs," Hnatiw said. "These are images that people in Ukraine will see." Hnatiw says the last few weeks have brought a lot of uncertainty, after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to blame Russia for the war, splitting from European allies. "He's gone as far as to pressure Ukraine to retract statements in the U.N. with regards to actually identifying Russia as the aggressor and starter of this genocidal war in Ukraine," Hnatiw said. "It's pretty clear that the United States is trying to pressure Ukraine into an agreement, a peace agreement that is not really about peace." Hnatiw hopes Trump's recent rhetoric about making Canada the 51st state will help Canadians relate to what has been happening in Ukraine. "It will help some people who don't quite understand that feeling of having something threatened like your statehood, your nation being threatened by someone else. And now multiply that by a gazillion, what's happening in Ukraine." Spreading message of hope Anastasiya Matlashevska is the vice president of Ukrainian Canadian Association of the Yukon. She was born in Ukraine, but has been living in the Yukon for over a decade. She says she never imagined a war like this happening in her lifetime. "Three years ago when the war started, nobody could believe it. Back then, nobody in their scariest thoughts would think that this war would last so long," Matlashevska said. "It's still important to remind the world that it's still happening. People still live their lives and they go to work and kids go to school. People adapt to a cruel reality there." Tuesday evening's vigil will serve as a reminder that the war is ongoing, but will also offer a message of hope. Kateryna Osypova will be speaking at the vigil. She left her home in northern Ukraine just days before the war began. Now she lives in the Yukon, while her family remains in Ukraine. "It's difficult all the time. It's difficult to wake up, it's difficult to go to sleep, and again, like, it's every second, I know my family is in danger," Osypova said. At the vigil, Osypova says she wants to lift up others whose families are in danger or who fled the war themselves. "I want to cheer up, to support people who are there because it's not the worst scenario that I have," she said. "I still have my family, I still have my hometown, most people came to the Yukon because they were running from the war. I need to tell those people that we need to have hope." Matlashevska says showing support from afar is appreciated by the people she knows in Ukraine.
