Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Fort Fitzgerald, Alta (June 13/05) - No one had to tell Edward McKay it was time to leave Fort Fitzgerald. The Fort Resolution elder figured it out for himself on June 8 by looking at a growing plume of smoke from a forest fire about 11 km north of the Alberta hamlet.

Fort Resolution elder Edward McKay didn't wait for the evacuation call, but drove to Fort Smith minutes before.

"As soon as I saw the big smoke, I got the hell out of there," said the 86-year-old, who was attending the Akaitcho Territory annual assembly hosted by Smith's Landing First Nation (SLFN).

Not long afterwards, at about 2 p.m., most of the 25-30 residents and the roughly 100 assembly participants evacuated at the urging of the RCMP. A convoy of about 50 vehicles headed to Fort Smith, about 20 km to the north. Among the evacuees were Premier Joe Handley and Phil Fontaine, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

The road, which was closed because of smoke and falling ash, was re-opened 5:30 p.m. that day.

Sgt. Craig Seafoot of the Fort Smith RCMP said the evacuation was precautionary and voluntary.

"If the road was closed, there'd be no way of getting people out," he said, noting the airspace was closed to permit firefighting activities.

Everyone left during the evacuation, except for four or five residents.

There was also a voluntary evacuation Tuesday evening, when only about 10 residents were in Fort Fitzgerald. Some stayed and some left.

The community has seven houses, and between 25-30 residents.

Seafoot said the evacuations were called for in consultation with SLFN Acting Chief Magloire Paulette.

As of Thursday, the fire had calmed down, and the Akaitcho assembly resumed.

Rob Harris, a wildlife information officer with Alberta's Department of Sustainable Resource Development, said the fire covered 380 hectares. It was being battled by 48 firefighters.

A nine-hectare fire was just to the north. Eight firefighters were battling it.

The two fires were contained and were no immediate threat to Fort Smith or Fort Fitzgerald, Harris said. "We're not expecting them to grow based on the resources we have working on them and the forecasted weather."

North of the border on Thursday, there were 16 active wildfires in the Fort Smith area and five in the Hay River area.

They were no threat to either community.

Long-time resident Francois Paulette responded with the word "frazzled" when asked how he felt about the evacuation of Fort Fitzgerald.

"You just say a prayer that everything will work out, and that's it," Paulette said.

Sonny MacDonald of Fort Smith complimented the RCMP for their handling of the evacuation.

"It was done very efficiently and orderly. Nobody panicked," said MacDonald, a delegate at the Akaitcho assembly from Salt River First Nation.

The evacuation drive to Fort Smith was a bit of an adventure.

For a section of the highway, heavy smoke mixed with heavy dust to limit visibility.

"I almost rear-ended the vehicle in front of me," said Noeline Villebrun, national chief of the Dene Nation.