FortisAlberta crews swiftly restore power amidst first wildfire impacting service territory

May 8, 2025, 17:15 PM

Active wildfires in our province have recently impacted the FortisAlberta electric distribution system in Athabasca County, south of Boyle, and around our Strathmore service point.

Athabasca County: Yesterday, our crews completed the replacement of 23 poles damaged by the fire. They accomplished this impressive feat in a short amount of time, with energized lines by 7:15 p.m. Larry Caouette, Manager, Field Operations, praised the teams' efforts: "Our teams did a great job assessing the situation, coming up with a plan and executing on it. We also made an effort to provide the supporting teams involved with real-time updates on the progress and the expected time to restore power."

Strathmore: Eight poles were damaged and replaced, ready to be energized by 4 p.m. yesterday. We thank the Brooks and Strathmore crews for their response.

Throughout the day, we kept impacted customers informed through our Customer Care Centre and social channels as the situation evolved. Updates were provided on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and our dedicated web page www.fortisalberta.com/abwildfire used for restoration efforts that are impacted by current wildfires throughout the wildfire season.

Emergency Alerts and Local States of Emergency in FortisAlberta service territory (as of 8 a.m. on May 8):

• Athabasca County: An evacuation order is in effect due to a wildfire burning south of Boyle along Highway 831. This order affects everyone in the Village of Boyle and those east of Range Road 195 to 193 and south of Township Road 650.
• Thorhild County: A state of local emergency has been declared, with an evacuation order for areas south of the hamlet of Radway. This affects residents on Range Roads 203-211 and Township Roads 580-584.
• Sturgeon County: An evacuation order is in effect due to a wildfire near the Redwater Provincial Recreation Area. This affects everyone on Range Road 211 East to Range Road 203 and between Township Road 580 South to Township Road 573.
• Alberta Wildfire: A fire ban has been implemented through much of the Forest Protection Area, covering FortisAlberta’s service territory.

Please follow all local advisories and stay safe. For information about how to be prepared for wildfires please visit https://www.alberta.ca/wildfire-preparedness and for current information about Alberta wildfire status visit https://www.alberta.ca/wildfire-status.

Updates on power outages are available on our Outage map Outage Map | FortisAlberta, you may also sign up to receive text and/or emails about outage alerts at Power Outage Alerts | FortisAlberta.

At FortisAlberta we take wildfire prevention seriously and have a comprehensive strategy to address wildfire risks. This includes rapid response protocols to handle wildfire incidents efficiently. We also offer a range of wildfire prevention tools to help keep communities safe. To learn more visit https://www.fortisalberta.com/wildfiresafety.

Pictured: FortisAlberta's North Travelling Crew who were on the ground replacing 23 damaged poles and working with emergency response to safely and efficiently restore power to impacted customers.