Natural gas pipeline fire in Yellowhead County prompts Alberta Wildfire response

A pipeline caught fire west of Edmonton late Tuesday morning, sending up a large plume of flames and smoke visible from many kilometres away and triggering a small wildfire.

It happened around 11 a.m. in Yellowhead County, northwest of Edson and northeast of Hinton along Emerson Creek Road. The fire was visible from a considerable distance, including along Highway 16.

There are several gas plants and gas wells in that region and the pipeline in question is operated by TC Energy.

The energy company said it was responding to the incident involving the NGTL natural gas system approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Edson in Yellowhead County.

“TC Energy received notification about this incident at approximately 11 a.m. MT and immediately activated our emergency response procedures,” a statement said, adding the company was co-ordinating with first responders.

The NGTL is TC Energy’s natural gas gathering and transportation system for the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB).

The system transports natural gas from Alberta and northeast B.C. to domestic and export markets. The system spans 24,631 kilometres and connects with TC Energy’s Canadian Mainline system, Foothills system and other third-party pipelines.

Alberta Wildfire said surrounding trees caught fire, so it was also responding to the blaze north of Obed Lake.

There were eight pieces of heavy equipment, 12 wildland firefighters and additional resources from Yellowhead County and industry at the incident, Alberta Wildfire said in a 3 p.m. update on the fire labeled as EWF015. Airtankers and helicopters were also working with the firefighters.

The fire is about 28 kilometres north-northeast of Obed Lake, 35 kilometres northwest of Edson and 55 kilometres northeast of Hinton, the province said.

The wildfire could be seen from Highway 40 north and Highway 16. Alberta Wildfire and the county said they were working together, along with industry staff, to extinguish the remaining wildland fire.

Just before noon, the province’s wildfire dashboard said the out-of-control fire was around 10 hectares in size.

Alberta RCMP said it received a call about the incident just after 11:30 a.m. and both Mounties and Yellowhead County fire crews were responding to the rural scene.

The affected section of pipeline has been isolated and shut down, both TC Energy and the county confirmed, and there was no more gas leaking.

“Our primary focus right now is the health and safety of responding personnel, surrounding communities and mitigating risk to the environment,” TC Energy said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The pipeline is under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Energy Regulator. The federal body said it was sending inspectors to the area to monitor and oversee the company’s response and determine the impact of the incident.

The county said there is no threat to the public, and crews continue to work on the scene, containing and extinguishing the remaining fire.

There have been no reports of any injuries and AHS said EMS did not transport any patients.

The wildfire risk in that part of Alberta was categorized as moderate on Tuesday, and a fire advisory remains in effect.

— More to come…

— With a file from The Canadian Press

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