Highway 88 closed due to flooding in Fort Vermillion

The flooding of Peace River that inundated Fort MacMurray has just recently caused the closure of Highway 88, northwest of Fort Vermillion.

Barricades have been put into place to hold back floodwaters and residents of Fort Vermillion and people traveling to High Level have been advised to use Highway 35 as an alternative route.

On Sunday night residents of Fort Vermillion were served with a mandatory evacuation order for anyone living in the north-eastern side of town. This includes the local airport that had been put underwater by Monday morning. 

There is no set date that police have said the highway can reopen due to uncertainty of when the floodwaters will recede. 

On 511 Alberta the closure is listed as having started on April 27 at 8:19 am, and the last updates on the situation were provided at 9:28 pm.

This is a repeat event for residents of Northern Alberta as last year’s heavy flooding affected several towns up north as well as closed Highway 88 due to the floodwaters causing the road to fall apart.