May 30, 2025 | 2:30 PM
The below statement from Fire Chief Chad Moore is in response to the wildfire near Redwater Provincial Recreation Area in Sturgeon County.
For the past several weeks, hundreds of firefighters, law enforcement personnel, emergency responders, helicopter pilots, heavy duty machine operators and emergency management staff have been working non-stop with two goals in mind: returning families to their homes and getting the Redwater Recreation Area fire under control. On May 13, we were happy to see the evacuation order lifted and area residents return to their homes. This week, we are thankful to announce that the fire is now on ‘patrol status.’ This means the surface fire is out and crews will continue to monitor for hotspots over the remainder of the year. 
Throughout this incident, one thing has been clear: we are in this together. It was a spirit of cooperation between Sturgeon County, neighbouring municipalities and beyond, Alberta Wildfire and many private contractors that helped get us to this point and it’s going to take the continued cooperation of our community to help ensure this area returns to its original state. With the fire now on patrol status, Sturgeon County will once again take command of the fire response, leading the recovery efforts. We are thankful to all those who partnered with us in this fight, and to the community who did everything they could to get us here. Â
The recovery work that lies ahead will take time. But just as we worked together to fight the flames, we’ll work together to rebuild.
