EDMONTON – A busy and vital highway that connects southern and northern Canada has been closed because of an out-of-control wildfire in Alberta’s very dry northern region.
The one-square-kilometre blaze forced police and fire authorities Sunday night to shut down the Mackenzie Highway, about 900 kilometres north of Edmonton.
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Crystal Burrows, acting wildfire spokeswoman for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, says thick smoke initially threatened driver safety and the flames eventually jumped the road.
RCMP say traffic in both directions is affected by the closure, and there is no word on when the highway will reopen.
Another out-of-control fire about 200 kilometres south and which also covers about one kilometre has led to an air-quality advisory for the tiny community of La Crete (KREET).
Burrows says the blaze is about 15 kilometres to the southeast of the hamlet, but the wind is currently pushing it in the opposite direction and there have been no injuries or evacuations.
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