Rain that doused Alberta fires now cause flooding and prompt evacuations

Just days after thousands of residents of Alberta’s Yellowhead County were allowed to return home following their second evacuation in only a few weeks due to forest fires, it’s now flooding that’s forcing some county residents to flee.

An evacuation order was issued late Monday afternoon for residents in Lower Robb, about 250 kilometres west of Edmonton, due to heavy rainfall, although other areas of Robb are not affected by the order.

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Earlier in the afternoon, the county declared a state of local emergency due to overland flooding, and Chief Administrative Officer Luc Mercier told an online video update there are numerous roads in the county that are inundated with water.

He warned people not to drive over roads covered with water because they could actually be washed out.

Mercier said the community of Cadomin, meanwhile, is suffering a power outage because snow has knocked down transmission lines and the electricity there could be out for several days.

Yellowhead County Mayor Wade Williams said in a video update that he couldn’t believe what was going on, and that words failed him.