Update - May 23, 2023
The Town of High Prairie and Big Lakes County have cancelled all evacuation alerts as of today, May 23, 2023. The MD of Lesser Slave River has also moved their alert to 8 hours for areas impacted by wildfires. Updates on school activities are listed below:
Busing
Effective tomorrow, all bus routes in the Division will resume normal operations.
Field Trips
All field trips can return to normal. Buses cannot travel on highways that are deemed not recommended for use per Alberta 511 Alerts.
Air Quality
Outdoor activities, inclusive of physical activities, recess, and field trips, are at the discretion of school administrators.
Update - May 22, 2023
We have reviewed available weather and wildfire information across the Division and have the following updates:
Ward 1 (Donnelly and Falher): Busing and school continue as normal.
Ward 2 (High Prairie): Schools open. Busing remains cancelled until a larger area is no longer on evacuation alert/order status. We will continue to watch for updates from the county and town and alert you when this changes.
Ward 3 (Joussard and Kinuso): Busing and school continue as normal.
Ward 4 (Slave Lake): Busing and school continue as normal except for Route 203 (Green Bus). That route will not operate until further notice.
Update - May 18, 2023
We continue to monitor wildfires across our Division. We will be watching the weather this weekend and how the anticipated rainfall affects the situation. We will be providing an update on all busing and school operations for the week of May 23-26 on Monday, May 22. Thank you for your continued support.
Update - May 15, 2023
The Town of High Prairie is currently on a 4-hour evacuation alert, with a number of areas surrounding the town on similar evacuation alerts. Schools remain open at this time. Busing into High Prairie schools will be cancelled for the remainder of this week, May 15-18. May 19 (Friday) is a day in lieu or a PD day (no school for students).
The following is the HPSD evacuation plan for students in High Prairie schools.
1-Hour Evacuation Alert
If the Town of High Prairie is put on a 1-hour evacuation alert, we will notify all parents of the change in evacuation status. If we move to an evacuation order, all students will be evacuated on school buses to the designated evacuation centre.
Evacuation Order
All students in High Prairie will be evacuated on school buses to the designated evacuation centre. This site is chosen by fire officials. Parents must pick up students from the evacuation centre.
Buses are on-site at schools, and drivers are on standby. If we evacuate schools, school staff on buses will be following student release procedures to ensure students are safely released to parents/guardians listed on file at their child's school. Student release procedures can be found on our website here.
We will continue to update you if the situation changes.
Update - May 14, 2023
Due to the ongoing wildfires, we are cancelling all bus routes coming into High Prairie. Schools remain open at this time, with plans in place to evacuate High Prairie students if necessary. We will continue to watch the wildfire reports and provide updates if there are changes.
Update - May 9, 2023
In collaboration with Northland School Division, High Prairie School Division, and Holy Family Catholic Regional Division, we have spoken with fire officials in the High Prairie area, and all schools in High Prairie will OPEN on Wednesday, May 10. This includes the following schools:
- High Prairie Elementary School
- Prairie River Junior High School
- E.W. Pratt High School
- Prairie View Outreach School
- St. Andrew's School (HFCRD)
The following transportation services to school will resume on Wednesday, May 10:
- Peavine to High Prairie schools (NSD)
- Grouard to High Prairie schools (NSD)
- All HPSD routes to High Prairie schools that are not in the one-hour evacuation alert area in Big Lakes County.
The Gift Lake to High Prairie bus route (NSD) will not run tomorrow (Wednesday, May 10, 2023).
HPSD buses 214, 280, 285, 292, and 294 will also not operate as their routes are in the one-hour evacuation area. Bus 289 will operate the parts of its route that are not in Enilda, which is also part of the one-hour evacuation notice.
If the wildfire situation changes and schools are forced to evacuate students, HPSD will transport all High Prairie students to the designated evacuation centre, regardless of the school division that drove them to school.
Any families who wish to keep their children home from school are fully supported to do what is in the best interest of their families.
Northland School Division confirmed that Hillview School in East Prairie, Bishop Routhier in Peavine Metis Settlement, and Gift Lake School in Gift Lake all remain closed.
Update - May 8, 2023
In collaboration with Northland School Division, High Prairie School Division, and Holy Family Catholic Regional Division, we have spoken with fire officials in the High Prairie area and all schools in High Prairie will remain closed on Tuesday, May 9. This includes the following schools:
- High Prairie Elementary School
- Prairie River Junior High School
- E.W. Pratt High School
- Prairie View Outreach School
- St. Andrew's School (HFCRD)
Northland School Division confirmed that Hillview School in East Prairie, Bishop Routhier in Peavine Metis Settlement, and Gift Lake School in Gift Lake all remain closed.
The schools listed above will not be accepting any students. The Principal or their designate will be at the school in the event a student arrives there. Any students that arrive at the school will have their parents/guardians contacted to pick up their child immediately.
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Update - May 7, 2023
In collaboration with Northland School Division, High Prairie School Division, and Holy Family Catholic Regional Division, we have spoken with fire officials and the coterminus school authorities in the High Prairie area and will be closing all schools in High Prairie on Monday, May 8. This includes the following schools:
- High Prairie Elementary School
- Prairie River Junior High School
- E.W. Pratt High School
- Prairie View Outreach School
- St. Andrew's School (HFCRD)
Northland School Division has also closed Hillview School in East Prairie, Bishop Routhier in Peavine Metis Settlement, and Gift Lake School in Gift Lake.
All staff who have been displaced must contact their supervisor to alert them of their status.
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We have been closely watching the wildfire updates for our region. To our families and our communities, our thoughts are with you.
For current information on the wildfires, go to the following links:
Alberta Emergency Alert
https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-emergency-alert.aspx
Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/3ffcc2d0ef3e4e0999b0cf8b636defa3
Wildfire Status
https://www.alberta.ca/wildfire-status.aspx
511 Alberta
https://511.alberta.ca/#:Alerts
Smoke Forecast
https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/
We will be posting an announcement about next week's school operations this morning based on information we confirm with officials.