Wildfire roundup: What you need to know about blazes burning across Canada

Wildfires are burning dangerously close to a central Albertan town in what federal officials say is an “unprecedented” fire season across Canada.

Here’s a look at developments Sunday:

Fire chews through transmission towers near Edson

Alberta’s largest regulated electricity transmission company is warning residents in areas near the town of Edson to be prepared for extended power outages.

AltaLink issued a series of tweets saying several transmission towers south of Edson have been consumed and toppled by a spreading wildfire.

The company says so far, transmission infrastructure supplying power to towns west of Edson has not been affected.

The Saturday evening tweets from Alta Link’s say the situation remains fluid.

Evacuation orders remain in place for Edson and parts of Yellowhead County, which is about 200 kilometres west of Edmonton.

Officials said in a video update Saturday that part of the massive fire was just 1.5 kilometres south of Edson’s boundary.

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Quebec firefighters get help from France

Quebec’s natural resources minister says wilderness firefighters are now taking the offensive against the province’s forest fires rather than simply reacting to the blazes.

Maite Blanchette Vezina says coordinated attacks against the fires are now possible due to reinforcements from other jurisdictions, including a team of wilderness firefighters from France.

She says there are still 131 fires burning in the province, but the number of blazes deemed out of control has dropped by 28 to 44.

But she says it’s not yet safe to allow people to return to any of the communities that have been evacuated.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2023.