Two homes in Parkland County hamlet lost to wildfire

Two homes and 11 other structures were destroyed in a wildfire west of Edmonton, Parkland County confirmed Wednesday.

The wildfire sparked on Thursday near the hamlet of Tomahawk in Parkland County, prompting a mandatory evacuation alert early Friday morning for some residents in the area.

By Saturday, residents were able to return to the evacuated area.

Parkland County spokeswoman Rebecca Lewicki confirmed Wednesday that two homes and 11 structures were lost because of the fire.

There were no reported losses of livestock.

Lewicki said in an email the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Wednesday morning, Parkland County issued an advisory that smoke from the wildfire was causing poor visibility. As a result, Township Road 514 was closed from Range Road 63 to Highway 22.

The wildfire, which is situated between Highway 22 and Range Road 63 and between Township Road 510 and Township Road 524, is currently being held. It remains at 2,220 hectares in size, or about 130 Commonwealth Stadiums.

By comparison, the 2019

Chuckegg Creek wildfire that forced the evacuation of the Town of High Level and surrounding communities burned through 334,722 hectares. While no homes were lost in High Level, 15 homes on Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement were destroyed.

A state of local emergency is still in effect for Parkland County and in the event conditions change, an evacuation order may be reissued.