Justin Trudeau to meet with military aiding Alberta wildfire fight

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is paying a visit to Edmonton Monday to meet with Canadian Armed Forces personnel helping fight wildfires in Alberta.

The Canadian government announced last week 300 soldiers were deployed to help tackle the raging blazes, which have forced thousands of people from their homes.

At the time, federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said the situation in the province was “unprecedented,” confirming the government had said yes to a request for assistance from the province.

Over the weekend, 200 wildland firefighters from the United States arrived in Alberta to aid in the fight.

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The arrival of more help comes as hot and dry conditions are set to return throughout the province.

While most of the fires have affected northern and central Alberta so far, the danger for more southern areas continues to rise.

As of Monday morning, there were 90 active wildfires in the province, with 23 considered out of control.

Additional evacuation orders have swelled the number of Albertans out of their homes to more than 19,000. Residents of Drayton Valley were told over the weekend to expect to stay out of the area for at least another week.

Wildfires in Alberta have also begun to effect our neighbours — with Saskatchewan having to issue evacuation orders of its own due to smoky conditions that created air pollution unsafe for residents with health conditions.

British Columbia’s Peace Region is also under several evacuation alerts because of the fires.

An update on the situation in Alberta is expected at 3 p.m. Monday.