By all accounts, Wood Buffalo RCMP feels last week’s evacuation from the wildfire was well executed in their jurisdiction.   

That included the closure of Highway 63 northbound to allow more southbound vehicles through. Staff Sergeant Sabrina Clayton says collaborative work with other organizations helped ensure that the process took place smoothly. 

“Obviously, we have to be very concerned for public safety in that case because you do have obviously a change to traffic behaviour and people still coming north, including emergency services,” S/Sgt. Clayton said. “You do have to be cautious in those situations, and we were able to access our partners, both with the municipality and bylaw, as well as Alberta Transportation to be able to accomplish that.”

S/Sgt. Clayton says the initial tasks for RCMP officers included those under the evacuation order could leave in a timely manner while also allowing others to evacuate safely. 

“From there, it transitions to public safety and property safety, where we keep the areas that are evacuated secure with 24/7 security essentially.”

S/Sgt. Clayton says lessons learned from the 2016 wildfire evacuations were put into practice this time around. 

Harvard Media News has learned a Fort McMurray couple sustained critical injuries in a head-on collision during the evacuation. The collision took place on Highway 55. Alberta RCMP has not yet provided an update on the situation.