People in the Cochrane area are ready and willing to assist those caught in the wildfires raging to the north.

Among them are Kendra Watt and the Cochrane and District Agricultural Society.

Watt has offered the use of her land to rescue livestock for those impacted in Brazeau County and says many ranchers and farmers here have stepped forward to help transport the animals if called upon.

She says, though, the speed at which the fire spread has blocked off access points to the areas needing help. It's now become more of a rescue and recovery mission for people that have had to open their gates or cut their fences to let their livestock loose to fend for themselves.

"I was told on the second day by Brazeau County that the livestock division could no longer coordinate moving any livestock and that the road access was extremely limited so they asked that I just start posting on Facebook groups what we had for assistance on standby," she explains. "The problem is, they want everyone out of the area, not entering the area, so the calls for assistance needs to be well in advance of the actual evacuations."

She says her post has reached at least 500 people, but at this point, no one has taken her up on the offer but may need assistance once things settle down.

Watt works with an Evansburg area horse rescue group called Horse Heroes Alberta, whose members are currently working to assist livestock evacuation in Brazeau County as well as Edson, AB.

"I've had a few calls looking for our help with searching for and identifying loose livestock once we're allowed in, but that's not possible until the evacuation order is lifted."

While evacuation orders for some areas of the province have been lifted, thousands remain evacuated from northern and central Alberta communities, including parts of Brazeau County, including Drayton Valley. 

She says people who need assistance can reach out to her by either calling or texting her at 403-992-1156. 

Cochrane AgCochrane and District Agricultural Society (file photo)

Four days ago, the Cochrane and District Agricultural Society extended an offer of help.

"We are able to open up stalls and parking spaces to anyone in need of an evacuation location. We are currently far from the worst of the fires but will remain available to anyone who might be in need."

As of yesterday, no one had taken up the offer.

In an update early last night, Alberta Wildfire officials said the fire danger continues to be extreme across most of the province except for the Rockies, where lower fire danger was expected.

As of last night, there were 82 active fires in the Forest Protection Area and 24 were classified as out of control. Nineteen were being held and not expected to grow beyond projected boundaries given current weather conditions and resources. Thirty-nine were under control.