Evacuation

Alerts and orders for the Pigeon Lake Summer Villages are issued through Alberta Emergency Alert, which is the official source. The Summer Villages may also send a notice through Alertable. They reach cell phones in the affected area, the Alberta Emergency Alert app, and radio and TV. An alert will tell you the affected area, the route to use and where the reception centre is. Officials may also go door to door.

Before an evacuation

• Keep your vehicle fuel tank at least half full, especially during wildfire season.
• Have your 72-hour kit and grab-and-go bags packed.
• Know more than one way out of your Summer Village. Many lake communities have one main access road, and that road may be the one that is blocked.
• Take photos or a video of every room and your belongings for insurance purposes.
• Plan where your pets, and any horses or livestock, would go.
• If you have a boat or trailer, decide now whether you would take it. On a congested road, towing slows everyone down.

When an Evacuation Alert is issued

• Gather everyone in your household, including pets, and stay together
• Put your kit, grab-and-go bags, medications and documents in your vehicle
• Move vehicles out of the garage while the power is still on, and park facing the road
• Put irreplaceable items (photos, heirlooms, hard drives) by the door or in the vehicle
• Close all windows and doors, and close vents and skylights
• Move flammable items away from the house: patio furniture, firewood, propane cylinders
• Check on neighbours, especially seniors and anyone living alone
• Tell your out-of-area contact where you are planning to go
• Monitor Alberta Emergency Alert, local radio and 511 Alberta

If you need extra time to leave because of mobility, health, young children or animals, leave during the alert stage. Don't wait for an order. If you may need help to evacuate, join the Vulnerable Persons Registry now, before an emergency.

When an Evacuation Order is issued

• Leave immediately. Take your grab-and-go bag, medications and pets
• Use the route you are given. Don't take shortcuts, as roads may be closed
• Take one vehicle if you can, to reduce traffic
• Turn off utilities only if officials tell you to
• Leave a note on the door saying when you left and where you are going (optional)
• Drive with your headlights on and watch for emergency vehicles
• Register as an evacuee, online if the alert says so, or at the reception centre, even if you are staying with friends or family
• Tell your out-of-area contact you are safe

Reception centres and registration

When an evacuation is ordered, a reception centre is opened outside the danger area. Its location will be given in the emergency alert, because the right site depends on where the danger is.

At the reception centre, Emergency Social Services staff and volunteers will:

• Register you, so officials know you are safe and family members can find you.
• Give you current information about the emergency.
• Help with short-term needs such as lodging, meals, clothing and personal services, if you have nowhere else to go.

Please register even if you are staying with friends or family. Otherwise, responders may have to search for you.

Animals

• Never leave pets behind. If you must, leave them indoors with plenty of water, never tied up, and put a sign on the door.
• Reception centres may not be able to accept animals. Plan for a friend, family member or boarding kennel outside the area.
• Livestock owners should move animals early, during the alert stage. Trailers on the road during an order slow everyone down. See livestock preparedness.

Visitors, campers and boaters

• If you are on the water when an alert is issued, return to shore immediately.
• Visitors and renters should leave during the alert stage, so roads are clear for residents.
• Make sure guests know the civic address of where they are staying, so they can tell 9-1-1 exactly where they are.

Returning home

Don't return until officials say the order is rescinded. Re-entry may be staged: open to residents first, with restrictions or a boil-water advisory. See Returning home safely for what to check before you go back in.

More information

• Prepare to evacuate (Government of Alberta)
• Evacuation fact sheet (PDF)
• 511 Alberta road conditions and closures