Areas in West Central Alberta respond to extreme flooding

Persistent heatwave in Alta., fuelling wildfires CTV's Austin Lee on the historic wildfire season in Alberta and how the extreme heatwave will affect ongoing fires.

As flooding spread throughout West Central Alberta earlier this week, residents of Lower Robb, a hamlet 60 kilometres south of Yellowhead County, were told to evacuate immediately.

Although the heavy rainfall was seen as a solution against intense wildfires burning throughout the country, the downpour threw Canadian communities into a new state of emergency, leading to evacuations for the second time in June after wildfires forced residents away earlier in the month.

“It has been relentless,” said Yellowhead County Mayor Wade Williams in an interview with CTV National News. “We’ve got roads washing out, we’ve got bridges being compromised.”

Chantal Bustard, a resident of Yellowhead County, said her property flooded within an hour on Monday.

“You see your home and it's just flooding before your eyes, and it's just... all your hard work is just gone,” Bustard told CTV News.

On Monday, the town of Edson declared a state of local emergency due to flooding, which was the result of more than 85 millimetres of rainfall.

Along with extreme damage to infrastructure, a number of roads were closed as crews attempted to mitigate further wreckage from flooding.

Lower Robb’s evacuation notice was issued Monday.

The order, released by Yellowhead County’s official site, asked residents to avoid driving through flooded areas, stay away from downed power lines and be cautious of “slippery conditions.”

It also warned residents to prepare for power outages.

On Tuesday morning, a shelter-in-place order was issued for the hamlet of Peers, about 40 kilometres northeast of Edson.

Williams believes these measures were the right call.

“I am proud to be able to stand here and say that we have not had the loss of one single human life,” he said.

Officials remain uncertain as to what the next few days will look like as rain halted Tuesday afternoon.

Anyone in Alberta who is experiencing flooding is asked to call the after-hours emergency line at 780-723-6300.