At approximately 6:30 p.m. local time on May 7, Alberta had 108 active wildfires burning, with 29 considered out of control and 61 under control and contained. Another 22 fires were being held and not expected to grow past expected boundaries.
Officials at an afternoon press conference earlier that day said 16 new wildfires started within the previous 24 hours, with the total area of the province burned this year now over 375,000 hectares.
More than 29,000 individuals have been evacuated to safe locations, Colin Blair, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said at the press conference.
Blair said that in some cases ongoing smoke and fire conditions are preventing officials from fully assessing property loss. “We know structures have been lost. But our first priority is protecting lives and dealing with the emergency response,” said Blair….