BARRHEAD - Barrhead Regional Fire Services firefighters have joined the province's larger wildfire efforts.
Chief Gary Hove told the Barrhead Leader in a May 11 interview that a two to three-person crew joined Lac Ste Anne County Fire Services' Lessard Lake Estate and the Drayton Valley firefighting efforts, with Tender 34, on Friday, May 5.
As the Lessard Estate wildfire is under control and the subdivision is no longer in imminent danger, BRFS firefighters returned home. BRFS' Drayton Valley crew has been replaced with fresh firefighters on May 10 and is still part of the combined provincial and local effort to get the fire under control.
During the interview, BRFS also received a request from the province to send firefighters and equipment to join the Peace River Forest Area task force battling several wildfires, including multiple blazes still deemed out of control. BRFS sent a five-person crew along with Engine 33.
Hove also noted due to the equipment they have loaned to other firefighting efforts with their crews, the department has pulled their recently retired Engine 5 out of retirement.
Fire ban update
Despite two days of cooler weather with some precipitation falling, Hove said it was not enough for him to lift the complete fire ban, especially with another period of hot, sunny weather starting this weekend and going well into next week.
"(With the recent precipitation) maybe the grass areas are starting to green up and will not be as much of a hazard, but in the forested or other areas where there is a thicker layer of dead leaves and grass, the fire risk is still extremely high, especially with the hot temperatures that are coming," he said.
Hove said that, for the most part, residents have been pretty good about adhering to the ban, and the department has received several inquiries about the specifics of the ban.
"Which is good, but we have also received reports about people that have decided to break the ban," he said. "In those instances, we try to educate rather than just give a ticket."
For the most up-to-date information on fire bans in the Barrhead or any other region in the province, Hove notes people should go to www.albertafirebans.ca as the site is updated immediately after a local ban is updated.
Busy April for firefighters
From April 1 to 30, BRFS' 34 members responded to reports of five structure fires accounting for 213.4 firefighter hours, one vehicle accident, one citizen assist, seven false alarms, and 20 medical assistance calls, but by far the largest category for the month was rubbish and wildfires at 22, accounting for over 75 per cent of firefighter hours at 835.
