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May 12, 2023

Industry Companies in Alberta Keep an Eye on Wildfires

Residents in the tens of thousands have been evacuated each day over the past week. Approximately 410,000 hectares – about a million acres – have burned so far this year, mostly in the northern regions of the province.

By  Sara Lavenduski

As wildfires rage across Alberta, Canada, residents – including members of the promo industry – have had to evacuate or are making preparations.

Premier Danielle Smith declared a state of emergency on Saturday, May 6. The next day, 29,000 Albertans were forced to evacuate. While that number has gradually fallen over the last few days thanks to cooler temperatures and some rain, the forecast for the weekend and early next week shows hotter, dryer conditions.

The province has had nearly 275 wildfires so far in 2023, which have burned an area about one-and-a-half times the size of Rhode Island. Smoke from the current fires has traveled as far as the eastern United States. Wildfires have also started cropping up in British Columbia. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted on May 11 that the government will provide federal assistance at the province’s request.

Drayton Valley, about 144 kilometers west of Edmonton, has been one of the hardest-hit communities. Karen Postill owns P-M Promotions (asi/515575), which is located in the town. She was one of about 7,000 people ordered to evacuate late at night on May 4; a week later, she has yet to receive word on when she’ll be able to return to her office or about the extent of the damage. Fortunately, her home is outside the evacuation zone.

“I can’t do much without my computer, which is at the office,” Postill says. “I do have a few orders that are going through and I’m using my iPad to get them shipped directly to the customer. But once those are done, I don’t have any income coming in. There hasn’t been any indication as to when we can go back.”

Frogbelly Printing & Promotions (asi/199456), also in Drayton Valley, could not be reached for comment on the situation – an update from Promotional Products Professionals of Canada (PPPC) on May 11 stated that the company’s phone and computer systems were down.

Drayton Valley Mayor Nancy Dodds said on May 10 that the fire is still too unpredictable for officials to be able to allow people to return. “I need our residents and everybody to know that the situation is still not safe here in Drayton Valley and Brazeau County,” she said. “The fires are still out of control, and our crews are still fighting these fires.”

Samantha Fullerton, senior account executive with Top 40 distributor BAMKO (asi/131431) in Canada, is in Sherwood Park, just to the east of Edmonton. She and her husband have made preparations to leave quickly if necessary.

“We’ve secured an emergency evacuation destination,” Fullerton said on Monday, May 8. “So far, there are no fires immediately threatening where we live, and we’re able to work remotely if we’re evacuated.”

By Thursday, Fullerton said she was concerned about a growing threat. “We have an extreme weather warning for the next four to six days, with temperatures more than 10 degrees warmer than normal,” she said. “They’re expecting the situation to worsen over the weekend.”

Russell Bird, owner of The Promo Addict (asi/302225) in Sherwood Park, says the area where he and his family lives – and where his company is located – is more populated, and less likely to be impacted by a fire that feeds on dry vegetation. “We have some friends who were forced to evacuate their homes, but they’re mostly in rural areas surrounding our town,” he adds.

Others who were evacuated have been able to return. Laurie Michaelchuk, owner of Edson Logo (asi/186043) in Edson, about 215 kilometers west of Edmonton, was evacuated from Friday, May 5 to Monday, May 8. “The fire stayed 5 kilometers south of us,” she says. “We had rain on Sunday that put it out. We’re hopefully OK now.”

So far, the fires have stayed mostly in the northern parts of the province. Brant Boytinck, president of Douglasbridge International (asi/50710) in Calgary, says the combination of cooler temperatures and some rain near the city has kept the fires at bay.

“All my employees are also in Calgary, so they’re all safe too,” Boytinck says. “I haven’t heard from any of our distributor clients in the affected areas yet, but I’m sure I will in due time.”

Warren Shuya, owner of Encore Specialty Products (asi/188301), and Gary Rowland, owner of Beamz (asi/134547), both in Spruce Grove, told ASI Media the fires aren’t close to their communities. Monica Longard, owner of Mondo Embroidery & Design (asi/275551) in High Level, also has not been impacted so far.

Russell Bird“We have some friends who were forced to evacuate their homes, but they’re mostly in rural areas surrounding our town.” Russell Bird, The Promo Addict

“We don’t have plans to leave any time soon,” says Longard. “We’re also the local Purolator depot, so even if there is an evacuation, we’ll likely have to stay to make sure emergency supplies are distributed.”

In May 2016, Albertans were impacted by a massive wildfire near Fort McMurray which forced the evacuation of nearly 90,000 people – the province’s largest in its history – and destroyed about 2,400 structures. Members of the promo industry lost homes and businesses, and the local oil and gas market was heavily impacted.