Emergency alert cancelled for area near fire at central Alberta oil lease site

An emergency alert issued Tuesday night for communities in east-central Alberta near a fire at an oil lease site has been cancelled.

The alert was initially issue for air quality due to toxic smoke from a fire at an oil lease site, located about 23 kilometres southeast of Mannville, Alta. The update posted shortly after 7 p.m. MT says crews have the fire under control.

"There is no longer any toxic smoke being released from the fire," the alert said. The community is located 170 kilometres southeast of Edmonton,

A fire at an oil lease site prompted an emergency alert by the County of Minburn on Tuesday due to poor air quality. The alert was cancelled just after 7 p.m. (County of Minburn)

The directive to shelter in place has been cancelled, but the public should continue to avoid the area for the safety of the crews working onsite to resolve the situation, the alert says.

A news release from the County of Minburn said four crude oil tanks on a privately leased site caught fire in the area of Township Road 480 and Range Road 81.

"Emergency crews have effectively extinguished the fire at the oil site located 23 km south of Mannville, " the county said. "As a result, there is no longer any release of toxic smoke from the incident. The diligent efforts of the emergency teams from the County of Minburn, County of Vermilion River, MD of Wainwright, Town of Vegreville and the Village of Irma have led to a swift containment of the situation."

A statement from the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) said Lycos Energy Inc., notified the AER around 1:30 p.m. about an oil tank fire occurring on a lease near Wainwright. The fire was put out at around 6:45 p.m., AER said.

"AER inspectors remain at site actively monitoring the situation and collaborating with emergency response and local officials to ensure the safety of the public," reads the statement.

"The AER will continue to oversee this incident including the company's response and remediation efforts."