Alberta’s first province-wide fire ban in 13 years may dampen a few spirits, but it will help prevent further disasters, says the minister of Sustainable Resource Development.
Campers can lighten the load and leave their saws, splitting axes and charcoal barbecues at home — they won’t be of any use, Mel Knight said from his Edmonton office on Wednesday.
The mood in his office has been understandably sombre as wildfires burn out of control throughout the province, including the fires that have destroyed large areas of the Town of Slave Lake and forced evacuations at other towns, said Knight.
“I realize it’s a long weekend. But folks, let’s be fair about this. It’s one long weekend out of a number that you’re going to enjoy in your lifetime. Let’s not put other Albertans at risk where they may not be able to enjoy long weekends for quite some time,” he said.
“You might be standing in a foot of water, but 10 miles away from you there could very easily be a serious fire threat.”
The provincial ban allows no outdoor fires at all, including charcoal barbecues and fire pits. The only cooking fires people can use outdoors are those fired by liquid propane, including camp stoves and grills.
The ban does not extend to towns, cities and villages, First Nation reserves and federal parks because the province does not have jurisdiction there, said Knight.
Some Central Alberta towns, including Rocky Mountain House, Olds and Blackfalds, have put bans of their own in place while rural municipalities including Stettler and Red Deer Counties have also added bans.
The City of Red Deer is considering a ban, but had not issued an order as of mid-afternoon on Wednesday.
Precedence goes to the ban with the tightest restrictions, said Knight. While counties and municipal districts are already covered by the provincial ban, they may put their own bans in place so they can suspend burning permits and so their enforcement officers can write tickets for infractions.
“The main message that I have is, I don’t think there are very many Albertans that have not seen the result of wildfire relative to the Town of Slave Lake,” said Knight.
“Let’s not fool ourselves. That is one fire of a large number of fires burning in the province of Alberta.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, there were 87 wildfires burning across the province, of which 21 were out of control. Two of those are in the Clearwater Forest, which covers the Eastern Slopes west of Rocky.
All available crews and equipment, including 1,000 people, 125 helicopters and 25 water bombers have been deployed to tackle the fires and extra help is being sought from other jurisdictions, he said.
“This situation now is getting to be, like a week old. So, you have to understand that a lot of these people need rest. So, we’re looking at additional help from outside the province. We’re in a situation where we would most certainly not want to see a lot of other critical situations occur over the next few days. That is the crux of this situation around the fire ban.”
Weather will play a major role in how well the battle goes over the next few days and whether or not the bans can be lifted.
With rainy days forecast to start on Monday, there is hope that the situation will start to come under control before people head out for the weekend, said Knight.
The success of firefighting efforts depends on what sort of rains actually come down.
Small storms with gusty winds and lightning can cause new fires and help them spread, while a good general rain will help bring fires under control, he said.
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development is posting updates on its Facebook page, Alberta Wildfire Info. Please use the “info” link for details, including a map of wildfires currently burning within the province. To report a fire, please call 310-FIRE (310-3473).
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com