Westlock County fire crews have been kept busy since a fire advisory was put in place on May 6.
Since that time, county fire chief John Biro said crews have responded to at least 19 fires, two of which were structure fires.
The most recent fire was a structure fire on May 18, when a mobile home was destroyed on Range Road 263 south of Township Road 580.
Busby fire chief and incident commander Jared Stitsen said the fire remains under investigation. No one was home when the fire broke out, and no one was injured in the blaze.
Crews received the call shortly after 10 a.m., and were on scene until about 3 p.m., Stitsen said.
When the call came in, he said firefighters were unsure what to expect, so they called in units from Busby, Pickardville, Clyde and Westlock Rural. “We had them all respond just because it’s better to send everybody and find out after what we’re getting into,” he said.
On May 17, county crews responded to two brush fires in the Nestow area that started up within minutes of each other, Biro said.
In both cases, burning barrels were to blame, he said.
“The barrels were in an area that wasn’t protected from the wind and were basically placed in or near the fine fuels,” Biro said.
The barrels weren’t sealed well enough, he said, and embers and other debris got out and ignited the dry grass near by.
Both fires spread through their yards, but were extinguished fairly quickly. However, crews remained on scene for about an hour to ensure any hot spots were put out.
“It takes a little longer because when you have the heavy brush and heavy timber and trees that are smouldering, you’re making sure there’s nothing that’s going to rekindle,” Biro explained.
The two fires are not the first fires burning barrels have caused, Biro said. In many cases they’re left unattended and not properly sealed, and in the past have caused fires that have ended up destroying buildings.
Biro said he would just as soon get rid of burning barrels because of their risks.
“My recommendation towards burning barrels is basically to haul them to the landfill site and don’t use them at all,” he said.
An early morning fire on May 13 gutted a young family’s two-storey home near the Westlock Ramada.
No one was hurt in the blaze, but it nearly claimed the life of a pet dog.
“There was five occupants inside at the time,” Biro said. “However, they escaped without injury, along with two pets and another was trapped inside. We were actually able to save and rescue the dog once we arrived on scene. It was on the main floor, kept in the kennel.”
The cause of the fire remains unknown, and investigations are expected to continue.
“I wouldn’t know the value,” Biro replied, when asked about what kind of damage the family was facing.
The homeowners woke up to the smell of smoke around 1:30 a.m. The couple grabbed their children and most of the pets before leaving the house and reporting the fire.
Crews arrived on scene and extinguished the fire in less than 20 minutes, according to Biro.
“And then we were there until — I think — it was about 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. It was close to 4:30 a.m. after mopping up and making sure there was no hotspots.”
