BARRHEAD - Barrhead Regional Fire Service (BRFS) chief Gary Hove has a simple message for area residents, follow the fire restrictions and make sure all their previous fires in burn barrels, pits, incinerators or burn piles are completely extinguished.
He also suggested that "curious looky-loos" should not drive to fire scenes, as it is potentially dangerous for both themselves and firefighters.
That is what Hove told the Barrhead Leader when he was at the scene mopping up some hotspots on the evening of April 22 from a large wildfire between Township Road 590 and Township Road 592, near Highway 33, and involved close to 30 firefighters from three different departments to get under control.
Due to the poor visibility and heavy smoke, a vehicle drove into the back of a BRFS fire vehicle. The occupants of the car were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The road was then closed temporarily to traffic.
Hove said the fire started when a homeowner on a property near Township 590 put some branches and other prunings in their burn pit on top of the remnants of a fire from a few weeks prior.
Unfortunately, unbeknownst to them, the fire wasn't completely out and re-ignited and quickly spread due to strong north winds.
Shortly after arriving on the scene, BRFS received a report of another wildland fire on Range Road 43, on the road to the landfill.
Hove dispatched the lone remaining piece of BRFS equipment, Engine 37, and called for assistance from the Fort Assiniboine and Rich Valley fire departments.
The firefighters from Fort Assiniboine were tasked with assisting with the fire on Range Road 43, while the crew from Rich Valley helped with the Township 590/592 fire.
"I wanted more people for fire response because we were stretched pretty thin,” he said, adding when the BRFS quickly extinguished the fire, the Fort Assiniboine contingent was rerouted to help with the Township 590/592 fire.
He added that the cause of the Range Road 43 fire was an unattended burn barrel fire.
Hove said fire crews were concerned that the fire would jump across Township Road 592 into another field and quickly expand into the tree line.
"It was a great effort by everyone to stop it at the road or before it spread to any nearby farms and lost any buildings," he said, adding it took roughly an hour and a half to get the blaze under control. “The thing about a field like this the straw that is stuck in it is five to six inches thick in areas, so it burns underneath, when you think you got it, it can pop back up. So you have to keep going over it to get it out.”
On April 17, the BRFS issued a fire ban suspending all burn permits, including burn barrels and incinerators. It also prohibits campfires in the backcountry or open land. The ban does not include approved fire pits or barbeques and propane fire pits.
Hove said that if they do not see any noticeable precipitation in the coming days, he may need to expand the fire ban to include approved fire pits.
