The crackling sound of flames followed me as I drove north on Highway 43 towards Grande Prairie earlier this week. Orange skies cast an apocalyptic glow over the landscape as billowing smoke drifted across the road. For the workers at nearby oil and gas facilities, these ominous signs have become a terrifying reality.
“We had fifteen minutes to grab what we could and go,” James Thorburn told me as we sat in a makeshift evacuation center in Grande Prairie. A process operator at a natural gas facility west of Edson, Thorburn and his colleagues were evacuated Monday as wildfires encroached on their site. “You could see the flames from the control room windows. It was like nothing I’ve experienced in twenty years in this industry.”
Across Alberta, wildfires are forcing numerous oil and gas companies to evacuate workers and shut down operations. The situation has grown increasingly dire as hot, dry conditions persist throughout the province’s forested regions where many energy facilities operate.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) confirmed they’ve evacuated non-essential personnel from multiple sites in northern Alberta. Approximately 500 workers have been temporarily relocated as precautionary measures, though the company states no facilities have sustained damage thus far.
“Safety is our absolute priority,” said Melissa Johnson, communications director for CNRL, during our phone interview. “We maintain comprehensive emergency response plans specifically for wildfire scenarios, and those protocols are being followed to the letter.”
The evacuations represent the latest challenge for Alberta’s energy sector, which has weathered economic volatility, political uncertainty, and increasing climate pressures in recent years. While the immediate concern centers on worker safety, the operational disruptions could ripple through production numbers if the situation persists.
Alberta Energy Minister Brian Jean addressed these concerns during a press conference I attended yesterday in Edmonton. “We’re closely monitoring the situation and working with industry partners to ensure both safety and continuity of operations where possible,” Jean said, standing beside maps showing the spread of active fires across the province.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has established an emergency coordination center to monitor impacts on energy infrastructure. Their preliminary assessments indicate approximately 5% of Alberta’s natural gas production and 3% of oil production has been affected by precautionary shutdowns and evacuations.
For Indigenous communities located near energy developments, the wildfires represent a dual threat. Linda Waskewitch, a member of the Woodland Cree First Nation and environmental monitor, explained how evacuation pressures compound existing concerns about industrial impacts.
“Our people are worried not just about immediate safety, but about what happens when these facilities are evacuated quickly,” Waskewitch told me as we walked along the edge of her community, where smoke hung visibly in the distance. “Who’s monitoring emissions? What happens if containment systems fail during a fire? These questions aren’t always addressed in emergency planning.”
The scientific community has long warned that climate change would bring precisely these types of compounding crises. Dr. Megan Thompson, a wildfire ecologist at the University of Alberta, explained that the frequency and intensity of wildfires affecting industrial operations is increasing.
“What we’re seeing is consistent with climate modeling predictions,” Thompson said. “The boreal forest regions where many energy operations are located are experiencing longer fire seasons, more lightning strikes, and drier conditions that make controlling these fires extremely difficult.”
According to Environment Canada data, Alberta has experienced above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation this spring, creating perfect conditions for wildfire spread. The number of wildfires in the province is approximately 40% above the ten-year average for this point in the season.
Back at the evacuation center, I met Sarah Collins, who works in human resources for a midsize oil producer. She was coordinating accommodations for about thirty displaced workers while trying to maintain operations at unaffected sites.
“The resilience of these workers is remarkable,” Collins said. “Many have been through the Fort McMurray evacuation in 2016, and now they’re facing this. Despite everything, they’re focused on helping each other and maintaining critical systems remotely where possible.”
Industry experts note that most modern facilities are designed with firebreaks and other protective measures, but the scale and intensity of current wildfires can overwhelm these defenses. Many companies have implemented advanced monitoring systems that allow for some remote operations, helping to maintain critical processes even during evacuations.
Curtis Fleming, who manages emergency response for several energy companies in the region, showed me satellite imagery on his tablet tracking fire movement near various facilities.
“We’ve gotten better at predicting fire behavior and protecting infrastructure,” Fleming explained, “but Mother Nature still has the upper hand. When conditions are this extreme, there’s only so much you can do besides getting people out safely.”
For Alberta’s economy, the wildfire disruptions represent yet another challenge. The province relies on energy revenues for approximately 20% of its annual budget, according to Alberta Treasury Board figures. While temporary shutdowns won’t significantly impact yearly production, they do highlight vulnerabilities in the system.
As evening approached and I prepared to leave Grande Prairie, emergency vehicles continued to move along Highway 43. The sun, obscured by smoke, cast long shadows across fields that should have been lush with early summer growth but instead appeared muted and gray beneath the haze.
For the oil and gas workers waiting to return to their sites, uncertainty hangs as heavy as the smoke. But as Thorburn told me before we parted, “This is Alberta. We’ll face this like we face everything else—together, one day at a time.”
