Many Westlock residents awoke to the sight and smell of wood smoke several days last week, as brush piles smoldered within town limits for several days.
A burn permit had been issued to landowner Marvin Marks to burn the brush piles located on the property at the north end of town between Oct. 30 and Nov. 30.
Marks said he lit fires in six windrows and two smaller piles near the beginning of November just after the first snowfall on Nov. 4, and didn’t think there would be any problem with the smoke because the weather was good.
“I didn’t know that it was going to happen,” he said. “The weather forecast was good, the winds were perfect.”
When the temperature dropped suddenly last week smoke from the piles, which were still smoldering, didn’t disperse as it would have under ideal circumstances.
Cold weather can cause what’s known as a temperature inversion, where a pocket of slightly warmer air gets trapped under a pocket of cold air up in the atmosphere, which can cause fog and smoke to collect close to the surface of the earth.
Fire chief Stuart Koflick said Friday morning that the permit issued had been rescinded on Wednesday, Nov. 12 — the first day the heavy smoke had really settled in town — and that he and the town’s peace officer Randy Burgess had been working with Marks to get the smoldering piles dealt with.
“We have the option to do whatever we need to do as a municipality to rectify this problem,” he said. “In the interest of public safety and being good neighbours, we’re working with the landowner, who’s taking steps to bring in equipment to put the fires out, and he’s systematically working on that as we speak.”
Marks said as soon as the town got in touch with him about the issue, he brought in some heavy equipment to bury the piles as soon as he could, but it was difficult to get them in immediately on such short notice.
“I’ve got a Cat and track hoe now, and we’re working right around the clock,” he said.
By Saturday morning, the smoke and cleared in town and the piles appeared to no longer be smoldering.
In the fire permit Koflick issued to Marks, there were several requirements listed including the requirements: to erect “Smoke Ahead” signs on adjacent roadways; to ensure sufficient quantity of tools, equipment, and water to put out the fire; having one adult present at all times during the burn; not to set more fires than can be managed by those at the site; and that burning “must not create a physical discomfort to neighbors or impair visibility on any municipal road or highway.”
Marks said he’s aware some of those conditions weren’t complied with, but in at least one case it wasn’t his fault — he said the town has no “Smoke Ahead” signs to put out, and the county only puts them out if there’s a major risk.
As for having sufficient equipment on site to manage the fire, Marks said he waited until after the first snow fall so he knew the fire wasn’t going to get out of control, and he had booked equipment to deal with the smoldering piles for the week of Nov. 17, when he figured the piles would be cool enough to bury.
Koflick said Friday he didn’t want to speculate on any potential enforcement, although the town’s fire prevention bylaw allows for a $500 fine to be levied for first offences of breaching that bylaw, but wanted to focus on getting the smoke under control as quickly as possible.
“Unfortunately there was just a set of circumstances here that worked negatively against us. Some of it has to do with the amount of burning needed to be done,” he said. “Unfortunately there were just a whole bunch of variables that fell into place that caused this issue we have now.”
Koflick acknowledged the amount of smoke could have caused health concerns and traffic safety concerns. At least one resident expressed concerns about her health and her family’s. Christine Chapman said two of her three children have asthma, they had some trouble with the smoke.
“We went downtown to buy tickets for Shrek on Wednesday, and my daughter and I were both hacking,” she said. “It seems like it was worse over there.”
She said they had not gone to a doctor due to the smoke, but she was considering it.
“If you’re wheezing and coughing and your (asthma) meds aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing, then that’s your next step,” she said.
Alberta Health Services spokesperson Mark Evans said the smoke had not been enough to prompt any form of air-quality advisory, and he said the local hospital had seen no increase in patients with respiratory complaints.
“We haven’t had any complaints specifically for us, and nobody’s come into the hospital saying that they had any symptoms that are directly linked to the smoke,” he said. “It sounds like it’s more of a nuisance than a health issue.”
Marks acknowledged some residents may have experienced some discomfort, but emphasized how apologetic he was about the whole situation. “I really regret if some people suffer over it,” he said. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
