Okotoks

Multiple wildfires in Jasper National Park flared up with a vengeance late Monday night, forcing all park visitors along with the 4,700 residents of the Jasper townsite to flee west with little notice over mountain roads through darkness, soot, and ash.

Photos and video shared on social media illuminated a midnight cavalcade of bumper-to-bumper cars and trucks, headlights on, red tail lights glowing, cars inching, stopping, starting, crawling through swirling tendrils of acrid smoke.

Another Tim Hortons Camp Day is in the books with thousands of dollars raised in Okotoks, High River, and Claresholm. 

On Tuesday, Tim Hortons announced that this year’s Camp Day on July 17th, raised nearly $12.8 million nationally. 

The restaurants in High River and Okotoks raised nearly $16,000, roughly $7,800 in each community. 

The heatwave is also affecting the fish in our province.

While a daytime restriction has not yet been put into effect, the provincial government issued an angling advisory on Monday morning.

With low water levels, declining river flows, and warm water, it's affecting the fish.

The advisory is now in place for all flowing and non-flowing waters throughout Alberta.

The province is asking all anglers to follow some practices to help reduce the stress on fish.

Construction on an expansion to Bill Robertson Park starts this week.

An accessible swing is being installed to the west of the existing playground, which is situated across from Seaman Stadium at 1400 North Railway Street.

The wheelchair-accessible swing was funded largely by a donation from the Rotary Club of Okotoks, totalling over $100,000, with the Town of Okotoks contributing about $10,000.

Along with the new swing, the playground's surfacing will also be replaced with infinity turf.

One way to enjoy High River, even in this heat wave, is with a walk through town.

The Town of High River teamed up with JumpStart, the Parks and Rec Division, the Public Works Division, and the Community Vitality Advisory Committee (CVAC) to help beautify the town.

You might've already noticed some of the new sidewalk installations and some of the utility boxes have already been decorated with historical photos of High River.

A couple of Foothills distilleries were on display in a recent social media from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

In his hands were a bottle of Sweet Sippin' Original Maple Whisky from Highwood Distillers in High River and a bottle of Stampede Canadian Rye Whisky from Eau Claire Distillers in Diamond Valley.

They were sent to him by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, making good on a bet from early June regarding the outcome of the Stanley Cup finals.

Jay Schueler who was a part of the 2024 Okotoks Dawgs has left for Dunedin to play for the Toronto Blue Jays in the Florida State League after inking a deal with the MLB club.

Schueler signed his deal on July 16th and hopped on the plane to Florida days after. Schueler hasn't been able to compete in a game for the Dawgs after he suffered a broken nose a week into his visit with the Dawgs during batting practice.

He was excited to play for the Okotoks but now is ecstatic that he's going to Dunedin and will rub shoulders with Canadian baseball legend Joey Votto.

The Calgary Stampeders unveiled Wally Buono into the rafters Sunday night as his name will forever be on the Stamps Wall of Fame.

Buono became the 50th Stampeder to be given the honour and was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2013.

As coach of the Stampeders from 1990 to 2002, Buono posted an impressive 153-79-2 record becoming Calgary's most winningest coach. Buono would take the Stamps to the CFL final a total of six times and hoisted the trophy three times. While with the B.C. Lions he would earn two Grey Cups, bringing his total to five as a coach.

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced $8.5 million for two projects led by Dairy Farmers of Canada.

“Dairy farms are at the heart of so many communities across the country, and I know just how hard our dairy farmers work to provide us with top-quality products while caring for their animals and the environment. Today’s investment is about giving Dairy Farmers of Canada the support they need to help farmers adopt sustainable practices to lower emissions, and improve the traceability and safety of dairy products.”

Residents and visitors in Jasper are facing a mandatory evacuation as a wildfire approaches from the south. 

The evacuation order, issued late Monday night (July 22), affects everyone within the townsite and the surrounding national park.

According to an updated alert at 10:18 p.m., the fire is rapidly advancing toward the community.

"Everyone in Jasper must evacuate now," declared the official notice.