FortSask

Earlier this week local residents were amazed to see an unusual sight... a woman walking alongside a donkey.

The donkey's name is Irene, and her owner Erin Dahl brings her around as a Pet Therapy Advocate with Fort Saskatchewan Victim Services.

"With my job, I support kids in court," said Dahl. "I'll take her to their house after for therapy support. Lots of seniors' and little kid stuff."

Dahl chose a donkey as a therapy animal because she had always wanted one.

104 Street in Fort Saskatchewan will be closed for quite a while. 

Construction crews began work on the road on Monday (June 5) to replace water, sewer, and road infrastructure. 

"It's part of our neighbourhood rehabilitation program," said Leo Girard, the manager of engineering with the city. "We are currently in there starting construction removing the existing asphalt and then we are going to dig down to get at the water, sewer, and storm lines and replace those." 

The affected area includes 104 Street from 99 Avenue to 100 Avenue. 

A special air quality has been issued for the region. 

The cause for this is an influx of wildfire smoke passing through the area. 

According to the Fort Air Partnership, the air quality in the region is expected to hit seven today, which indicates high risk. 

People who suffer from respiratory illnesses or conditions are encouraged to limit their time outside. It is also recommended that people try to avoid working outdoors for long periods of time. 

There will no longer be a midway at Morinville's Festival Days next week. 

The town announced on Thursday (June 8) afternoon that they made the difficult decision to cancel the midway, which was being provided by Wild Rose Shows. 

"Wild Rose Shows is currently working with Alberta Elevating Devices and Amusement Ride Safety Association (AEDARSA) to recertify their equipment and operations processes due to recent incidents that took place at another community festival," the town said in a release. 

Canada has partnered with a non-profit to seek out LGBTQ people fleeing violence all over the world and refer them to Canada as government-assisted refugees. 

Rainbow Railroad is based in North America and aims to help people facing persecution from systemic, state-enabled homophobia and transphobia all over the world.

Until now, the agency has done that by offering emergency relocation, crisis response and cash assistance to people in danger. 

The techniques used to put out the wildfires that are burning across Canada vary somewhat depending on geography, but ultimately they depend on people on the ground with hoses and shovels digging out hot spots one by one, experts say.

As of midday Thursday, there were 430 fires burning across Canada, including 235 that were out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Fort Saskatchewan's Farmers' Market has opened for the summer.

Hosted by the Fort Saskatchewan and Lamont Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Farmers' Market happens every Thursday from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. in the parking lot of the CN Station.

Abby Corbett with the chamber says a bunch was done to get the market going.

"There was a lot. You had to organize all the booths and take all the payments. It was a bunch of work, but it was worth it. Everybody is having a great time," said Corbett.

Bruderheim has implemented a fire ban on Thursday (June 8), effective immediately.

No open fires or burning are allowed, and all fire permits have been suspended.

However, propane barbecues will still be allowed for cooking purposes only and must be attended to at all times while in use.

This comes as Strathcona County declared a fire ban on the same day.

The fire ban is in place until further notice.

 A local man had the adventure of a lifetime in Arizona. 

Brian Hagel, a lifetime fan of the Wild West, was able to make the trek from Fort Saskatchewan all the way down to the American West to visit the iconic Mescal Movie Set and the Sierra Bonita Ranch. 

"I've always been fascinated with the wild west," said Hagel. "From mining, ranching, to even being town marshals, everything was exponentially different." 

"I've always been fascinated with that way of life." 

Strathcona County has declared a fire ban just a week after removing it.

With a fire breaking out in a rural area of the county, and a heat warning released by Environment Canada, the county has decided to reissue the ban effective today.