Northwest Edmonton homes evacuated due to grass fire along Anthony Henday Drive

The neighbourhood of Albany in northwest Edmonton was evacuated late Monday afternoon due to a wildfire burning in the Transportation Utility Corridor that Anthony Henday Drive runs through.

An update just before 5 p.m. from Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) said police and staff from Alberta Health Services were working to get people out of homes in the community that sits between the Henday and 167 Avenue, and 127 Street and 142 Street.

About half an hour later, ERFS said the homes were no longer at risk.

At the height of the grass fire, the city said there were about 15 fire crews — or 60 firefighters — on scene fighting the flames.

Someone who lives in the Aviva Condominiums in the area told 630 CHED everyone from the 123-unit building was being allowed to go back inside their homes around 5:30 p.m., after being evacuated about an hour and a half earlier.

The flames came within several metres of the backyards of some homes in the Albany neighbourhood but no injuries were reported or structures damaged as of late Monday evening.

Later in the afternoon, the flames died down, leaving behind several smouldering hay bales that were sitting in the grassy area between the neighbourhood and the freeway.

The Henday eastbound at Campbell Road and the onramp to 127 Street was closed for a few hours because of the fire.

It all reopened after 6 p.m., but police said traffic was moving slowly and emergency crews were still on scene dealing with hot spots.

The first call came in at 2:25 p.m., according to EFRS.

At first, six units were dispatched, with the first showing up just 11 minutes after the first call was received, EFRS said.

Three more units were added to the fire response later, according to the service. That was later bumped up to 15 units in total.

The fire was one of several fires that sparked Monday, with two on the north side stretching crews thin in the early morning, EFRS said.

&© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.