Northern Alberta town ordered evacuated because of wildfire

An evacuation order has been issued for a town in northern Alberta as a wildfire burns nearby. Officials say a wildfire is burning seven kilometres north of Swan Hills. The town's roughly 1,300 residents have been told to gather pets, important documents and medication, and to leave immediately.

Officials say the Edith Lake wildfire is classified as out of control and is estimated to be 20 square kilometres in size. The highway north of Swan Hills has been closed because of the fire. Swan Hills is about 220 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Town residents had been placed under a one-hour evacuation notice earlier in the day and were warned that changing winds could force them to flee.

Elsewhere in Alberta, people living southeast of Hinton have been told to prepare for a possible evacuation because of an out-of-control fire burning west of the former coal mining town of Mercoal. Wildfire officials say firefighters, airtankers, helicopters and heavy equipment operators are responding to the nearly four-square-kilometre blaze.