WESTLOCK – Westlock County issued its annual spring fire advisory April 25, with fire permits now being issued at the discretion of the municipality’s fire guardians for fireworks and essential burning due to high winds and “increased wildfire hazard.”
Protective services manager John Biro said April 26 that due to lingering snow, the county is about two weeks behind where it would normally be condition-wise heading into May. That said, crews are on high alert especially following an April 25 blaze for a second-straight year on an acreage northwest of town near Township Road 602 and Range Road 272. There a dozen county firefighters spent close to three hours getting the “small grass fire” under control.
“They were using a backyard fire pit, but it wasn’t compliant to regulations and they were obviously burning when the conditions were favourable for a wildfire to start,” said Biro.
“The fire advisory is meant to be a heads up and a think twice before you light a match. Obviously, we go through this every spring and fall when conditions are ripe for fires to start, especially with the high winds.”
Currently, backyard fire pits, burn barrels, professionally-engineered incinerators, CSA approved or UL certified portable propane fire pits and wood fires in registered campground fire pits are all allowed, as are off-highway vehicles so long as they have proper spark arrestors fitted. Exploding targets and tracer rounds are currently banned — any questions on the current rules should be directed to the county.
“We had a lot of moisture (over the winter) but our drought codes are very high still as we’re sitting at 300, which means that if we do have any fires in the forested areas we’re going to see deep-burning fires which are going to take many hours to mop up,” said Biro. “The downfall and everything else that’s lying on the forest floors are very, very dry.”
Biro’s tips included in the advisory are simple: supervise and extinguish all fires during windy, dry conditions and if you’re burning have water and extinguishing equipment ready to go. It is recommended that all burn permits that were previously issued be checked to ensure that they are out and don’t cause a spring grass fire.
Biro also urges everyone to use extreme caution when working or driving in grassy areas, be mindful of hot exhaust and keep vehicles clean and free of debris as smoldering debris can easily lead to wildfires.
He also recommends rural residents purchase wildfire insurance, as normal home insurance won’t cover things like grass fires. As a note, residents who live or travel in the fire protection area zone 44 must adhere to provincial bans and refer to the Alberta Fire Control Zone Map at https://wildfire.alberta.ca/resources/maps-data/documents/FireControlZonesMap-May03-2017.pdf.
“If a fire gets into the bush, your home insurance won’t cover that kind of stuff. So, I highly recommend everyone in the rural areas to try and get wildfire insurance for extra coverage,” said Biro. “They could be cutting grass and they hit a rock or the lawnmower malfunctions and it sparks up a grass fire and it jumps to a field. It can happen very quickly.”
