The Town of Ponoka has deployed four local firefighters south this morning (Sept 12th), to help battle the wildfires which are causing evacuations.

Chief Administrative Officer with the Town of Ponoka Alberta Flootman says the fire fighters were on a standby list to go and help, but didn't know when they were leaving until they got the call. 

“The fire chief (Jamie Wilkinson) and three town firefighters headed to Cardston very early this morning. They were hardly expecting it, they were put on a roster of fire crews available to be deployed. So the call would have come from the provincial operations centre sometime after midnight today.” 

Flootman says a number of fire departments throughout Alberta have been on standby since the fires down south started to get worse.

“They were put on the list last week, and last Friday about half a dozen Southern Alberta departments were deployed including Lethbridge and Calgary, to set up primarily in the Waterton town sites to protect the buildings, should the fire makes it way down the Akamina valley and the park. Everyone else was essentially on stand-by waiting if things took a turn for the worst, and that did happen late yesterday.”  

“With such dry conditions in Western Canada resulting in these uncontrolled wildfires, the Town of Ponoka wants to do whatever we can to help,” says Ponoka Mayor Rick Bonnett.

He notes the local PFD crew deployed this morning will be under the unified command of federal and provincial officials coordinating emergency operations efforts in southern Alberta.

Red Deer County Protective Services have sent 6 individuals to southern Alberta to assist the RCMP with their response to the wildfires.

The County will support the RCMP Special Tactical Operations Team with logistical support.

Community and Protective Services Director Ric Henderson and Senior County Peace Officer Irv Heide are joined by 4 Technical Rescue volunteers, Dave Brand, Don Bell, Jamie Schur and Wayne Moulton, they have taken the County Incident Command Post and Deployment trailers with them.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley tweeted out early Tuesday afternoon that a number of outside structures in Waterton Park have bene lost, including the Waterton Visitor Centre. 

She said the fire grew overnight by 50%, leaving park boundaries and pushing east and slightly north. 

Mandatory evacuation notices have been issued to residents located south of Highway 505 to Waterton Park, affecting residents in the Municipal District of Pincher Creek, Cardston County and Blood Reserve #148