In response to the threat of multiple wildfires burning throughout the province, Alberta has declared a provincial state of emergency to ensure the safety, health and welfare of Albertans.

Emergency responders are working around the clock to keep people safe and reduce the threat to homes and infrastructure.

Under the Emergency Management Act, declaring a state of emergency is a legal mechanism that provides the provincial government with a higher level of intergovernmental coordination, around the clock monitoring of the situation, access to emergency discretionary funds, the ability to mobilize additional supports and continue working with municipalities, organizations and businesses to support evacuated residents.

The Emergency Management Cabinet Committee continues to meet regularly to respond to the current wildfire situation across the province. Cabinet continues to have decision-making abilities, and will make decisions as needed to deal with this emergency situation.

The ministries involved in the Emergency Management Cabinet Committee include Alberta Public Safety and Emergency Services, Alberta Skilled Trades and Professions, Alberta Infrastructure, Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, Alberta Municipal Affairs, Alberta Health, Alberta Forestry, Parks and Tourism, Alberta Seniors, Community and Social Services, Alberta Indigenous Relations, Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation and Alberta Energy.

Department officials will continue providing daily technical briefings to the media and the public as this situation continues to evolve. A daily situation report will also be issued via news release.

The most up-to-date evacuation information is available at alberta.ca/emergency, Alberta Emergency Alert or by downloading the Alberta Emergency Alert mobile app, which immediately pushes all alerts out to subscribers. Albertans seeking information or supports can call 310-4455.

Anyone who has been evacuated due to wildfires is asked to register at local reception centres or at emergencyregistration.alberta.ca.

A local Morrin resident currently studying at Lethbridge College will have the opportunity to gain some hands-on experience with some leaders in the field of media after a story pitch earned him the Troy Reeb Internship.
Chase Chambers, 20, is the son of Gary and Martha Chambers and grew up on a grain farm just east of the Village of Morrin; he attended Morrin School up until Grade 9 and then transferred to Drumheller Valley Secondary School (DVSS) where he graduated in 2021.
He is currently in his second year studying Digital Communications and Media at Lethbridge College and recently earned the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business thanks to a story proposal submitted in competition for the Troy Reeb Internship, which is offered by Lethbridge College.
Chambers penned an in-depth article on the gender inequality of Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) cross-country races – men run eight kilometres while women only run six.
The story idea, he says, stemmed from one of his early observations as a rookie member of the Lethbridge College Kodiaks cross-country and indoor track teams.
“I was entirely new to cross-country running this academic year, and I was slower than a lot of the women on my team,” says Chambers. “So, when I went to my first meet and found out they ran a shorter distance, even though they were more capable than me, I wanted to know why.”
Chambers interviewed student athletes and coaches in the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference as well as a former Canadian national team coach to try to get a better understanding of the distance discrepancy. He says he found out the CCAA follows the lead of the World Athletics organization’s competition guidelines for the under-20 division; however, his pitch notes that some progress has been made by the CCAA in recent years to close the gap on men’s and women’s cross-country distances. Up until 2016, women only ran five kilometres.
This is the second time Chambers has made it to the final phase of the Troy Reeb Internship selection process. As a first-year DCM student, he was selected for the interview round based on a story he had written about farming technology.
The annual internship, sponsored by Reeb, has been available to Lethbridge College DCM students for the past 18 years. A 1988 graduate of the college’s Broadcast Journalism program, Reeb is now Executive Vice President, Broadcast Networks for Corus Entertainment. He was also named a Distinguished Alumni in 2003 and received an honorary degree in 2019.
“In addition to a unique and well-researched story idea, Chase has demonstrated a strong work ethic and willingness to learn that makes him an ideal candidate for this year’s internship,” says Reeb.
As part of his internship experience, Chambers will take an all-expenses-paid trip to Toronto and Ottawa where he will spend 10 days getting hands-on experience with Global’s online news platforms, television and radio stations. Chambers will also work on Parliament Hill with the Ottawa bureau of Global National. Past winners have gone on to achieve great professional success in the media and communications industries.
Chambers says he’s excited for the opportunity and is eager to learn new skills that he can use during his summer internship at RealAgriculture in Lethbridge and in the fall when he begins the Film and Video Production program at SAIT.
“I really enjoy visual storytelling,” he says. “The DCM program here at the college gave me a strong foundation for the media industry and a lot of experience in writing and in journalism. Now I’m hoping to really hone my film and video capabilities to round-out that skillset.”
Chambers says he also plans to try out for the SAIT cross-country team.