Warm temperatures and a lack of rain over the past few weeks has dried out Alberta leading to a province-wide fire ban.
Dangerous conditions throughout the province have caused a full fire ban, which prohibits all open fires, including burn barrels and campfires in all campgrounds.
Throughout the MD of Bonnyville all existing fire permits are now void and no new permits will be authorized until weather conditions change.
“The burning conditions are so extreme that even a cigarette thrown out of a vehicle window will light the grass on fire,” said BRFA Chief Brian McEvoy.
He went on to say that a recent “crossover” has caused the current extreme conditions, as the relative humidity in the air is less than the air temperature.
“When we get into crossover conditions small fires become large fires very quickly,” said McEvoy.
Although strict with most fires, the ban still allows those in the region to enjoy campfires in supervised backyard fire pits and residents can still cook on their propane or gas barbeque.
McEvoy says the decision to implement a fire ban isn't taken lightly, as there are several key factors that go into determining when such a ban should be put in place.
“We look at the total fire danger,” said McEvoy. “So we look at the drought code, the fine fuel moisture code, and the duff moisture code.”
The fine fuel moisture code is a rating of the moisture content in litter and other cured fine fuels, while the duff moisture code measure the moisture content of decaying materials on the ground.
“A rain shower will address the fine fuel moisture codes, a good two-day rain will address the duff problem, but it could take almost an entire season to impact the drought coding,” said McEvoy, who noted that the current levels for all three codes are very high and bordering on extreme.
Residents shouldn't expect a small rain to wash away the fire ban in the MD of Bonnyville as McEvoy fells it will take a good stretch of three to four days of rain before the extreme conditions are extinguished.
The weather for the region also shows no rain in the immediate future, with the next seven-days looking at temperatures in the mid to high 20's.
“The fire conditions we have are extreme. We are just trying to keep the number of grassfires down to a minimum, hence the fire ban,” said McEvoy.
The BRFA hopes to work with the public in making sure the region avoids a large grass fire and emphasizes complete compliance of the current ban.
Anyone who breaks a fire ban and is caught burning or discharging fireworks is subject to legal charges and fines representing to total cost of any type of emergency and mitigation services required to solve the issue.
The fire ban, which was issued-province wide on May 25, will be in effect until further notice.
