Wildfire danger forces evacuation of Waterton Lakes National Park

Kenow wildfire threatens Waterton National Park Waterton National Park is under an evacuation order because of a wildfire near the northwest boundary. Eli Bullen has an update on protection measures…

WATERTON, Alta. -- A popular national park in the southwestern corner of Alberta is under a mandatory evacuation order because of increased wildfire danger.

Waterton Lakes National Park says on its website that the order covers the townsite and all other areas of the park except for Highways 5 and 6 and the Chief Mountain border crossing.

"The safety of visitors to Waterton Lakes National Park, residents of Waterton, employees, fire crews and emergency responders is a top priority for Parks Canada," the park said in a news release Friday.

"A change in weather conditions has led to increased potential danger and hazards from the Kenow wildfire that necessitate the evacuation of the park."

The park has been closed to all incoming traffic except for emergency vehicles.

The Kenow fire prompted an evacuation alert earlier this week as it burned mostly in British Columbia on the park's western boundary. But Parks Canada says the fire has advanced into the park and now covers almost 80 square kilometres.

"We've gone from the 'prepare' to the 'now it's time to go' stage," RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters said from the gates of the park, where he says it was windy and smoky.

Peters said the fire is about 15 to 20 kilometres away from the townsite, but a forecast shift in the wind on Saturday could funnel the fire in that direction.

"That's really the main reason that they've taken the pre-emptive measure of getting everybody out in advance of that," he said.

Peters said there were around 200 to 250 people in the town on Friday morning and in the afternoon people were leaving in an orderly fashion.

An evacuation centre has been set up in the nearby community of Pincher Creek. Peters said the air is smoky there, but it is not expected to be at risk of wildfire.