A cold front is forecast to move into the area this evening, but the provincial update said it's anticipated to bring gusty, sustained winds from the west which will further challenge firefighters.
Luc Mercier, the chief operating officer of Yellowhead County, said in a video update Saturday with other municipal officials that a finger of the massive blaze was just 1.5 kilometres south of Edson's boundary.
"We understand that it's hard to leave your property but the reality is officials will not be able to help you if this does turn," the town's chief administrative officer, Christine Beveridge, warned in Saturday's video, adding crews were working to protect structures. "Don't expect to be coming back to our community in a day or two. This is going to be in the long haul," he said in the video.
It isn't Edson's first evacuation this year -- everyone in town was forced out for three days in early May because of another wildfire.
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