Local mutual aid assistance was sent from the Town of Olds Fire Department to Swan Hills, Alberta this week.
A crew and a brush truck will be helping the ongoing provincial wildfire efforts in that area, according to a post on the OFD Facebook page.
The Didsbury Fire Department also noted on social media that one of their local firefighters from Didsbury and one from the Carstairs Fire Department have headed up in the Cremona and District Emergency Services tender truck to join in the coordinated mutual aid response.
Justin Andrew, Fire Chief and Director of Emergency Services for the Town of Olds, says “right now the request through Alberta Emergency Management was to have these resources in place for seven days in that location. That could be affected a bit by a couple options – if there is rain or a decreased need for the resource, they could be sent home early. Again, at the end of the seven day period then we reassess our resources and our situation locally as to whether we would commit to stay longer or we need to be cycled out and returned back into our local area.”
Meanwhile, closer to home, Mountain View County has implemented a fire restriction for the entire region. It took effect on Friday (May 30th), and all outdoor fires must be extinguished, and the lighting of any outdoor fire is prohibited including fireworks, recreational fires not contained in acceptable fire pits, and fires that have previously received a fire permit.
The restriction is not the same as a ban, so burning in approved fire pits is still allowed. All current fire and fireworks permits are cancelled, and county officials maintain that no new fire permits will be issued until the fire restriction is lifted.
Fire Chief Andrew points out that fire activity has increased recently and all fire departments within the County have responded to various grass and wildland fires in their jurisdictions. With the increased winds experienced this week, he says OFD responded to a call northwest of Olds on Thursday night that was “very rapidly evolving with the wind. So that was kind of the incident that started the conversation of the fire restriction.”
When it comes to messaging for the public, Andrew highlights the fact that “the conditions are such right now that we are in a really volatile situation and resources are at an all-time low simply because there’s many fire departments that are scrambling trying to provide assistance to those northern communities that are experiencing these fires.” So even though we may not see the fire activity the same here, he adds “we really recommend that you avoid any outdoor burning of any type unless absolutely necessary and to make sure that you are well prepared if you do have any type of bar-b-que or firepit in your backyard.”
Visit the Mountain View County website for the latest on the status of the local fire restriction. For more provincial wildfire information, download the Alberta Wildfire Status app from the App Store or Google Play. Reports of a wildfire in a forested area can be made by phoning 310-FIRE (3473).
With files from Ethan Montague, Vista Radio.
