Indian Cabins residents say they’re evacuating over wildfire

While evacuees fled the Northwest Territories, people at Indian Cabins in northern Alberta – a popular rest stop along Highway 35, the road connecting Alberta to the NWT – began their own evacuation.

“Yeah we’re evacuees now too. We’re evacuating now,” an employee at Indian Cabins Trading Post told Cabin Radio by phone shortly before 8pm on Friday.

Alberta Wildfire said it had no immediate knowledge of that evacuation but confirmed that as of Friday night, a nearby wildfire had burned roughly 33,280 hectares and was last measured to be 20 km west of Highway 35.

“For people who need gas, we don’t have it anyways, but there’s some down the road at Steen River,” the trading post employee said.

There are so far no reports of Highway 35 closing, but drivers had earlier been told it could close at any time because of wildfires in the area.

For NWT evacuees still travelling through Alberta, highway conditions – as well as a webcam of the highway beside Indian Cabins – can be found on 511 Alberta.