Ice jams on the Peace River near Fort Vermilion on Saturday.
© Ari/CanWestAirIce jams on the Peace River near Fort Vermilion on Saturday.
Flooding continues to plague parts of central and northern Alberta, with more evacuations issued in Woodlands County and park areas of Grande Prairie.

A critical alert due to high water levels and flooding remains in effect for Woodlands County, around 150 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Six homes were evacuated a few kilometres east of Fort Assiniboine due to high water levels, Woodlands County spokesman Luke Mercier said Sunday morning.

Ice jams on the Athabasca River have created the high water levels, which have risen rapidly in the Pride Valley area.

Aerial footage Saturday shows severe flooding over Flats Road near Whitecourt in Woodlands County, where 10 people were forced to leave their homes on Saturday.

The road remains closed due to localized flooding.



Twenty-six roads are closed in the Municipal District of Greenview and 64 hazardous areas are being monitored, but no evacuations are in place.

Muskoseepi Park and the Bear Creek corridor were evacuated Saturday night in Grande Prairie due to elevated water levels. Many paths are underwater and the creek banks are unstable, but no properties were damaged, the Grande Prairie Emergency Coordination Centre said Saturday night in a media release.

"It's quite a large area," RCMP Supt. Don McKenna said Saturday night, adding the water levels did appear to be falling.

The park will remain closed until the water recedes. The public is asked to stay away from the area.

"It's quite dangerous," McKenna said. "We don't want anyone to get hurt, anyone to get swept away."

A critical alert was issued Saturday for flooding in Mackenzie County, 800 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. This is the province's largest county and includes the communities of Fort Vermilion, High Level, La Crete and Zama City.


Residents were asked to leave their homes in North Vermilion and homes in the area are without power, according to Alberta Emergency Alert.

The flooding is due to ice jams on the Peace River — ice backs up the river, and when it moves or is released, the water levels rise rapidly downstream.

Mackenzie County spokesman Byron Peters said the river had risen about two metres in one hour Sunday morning, and that officials were watching it closely. No additional evacuations have been ordered, but residents are on alert.