LAC LA BICHE – While the wildfire situation in the Lac La Biche area has improved considerably in recent weeks, John Kokotilo, regional fire chief for the municipality, urges residents to play it safe when burning or enjoying campfires.
“Be extremely cautious as the warmer temperatures and high winds could quickly escalate a friendly campfire to a catastrophic event, which you may be liable for,” Kokotilo told Lakeland This Week on July 7.
Despite higher humidity and some precipitation that has fallen across the region, according to Kokotilo, the fire index rating remains high.
As of late, Lac La Biche County Fire Rescue Services has not responded to a lot of incidents related to fires getting out of control.
However, the department’s Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) team is still assisting with the wildfire that occurred in the Winnefred/Grist Lake area just over one month ago, which prompted an emergency evacuation order to be put into place at the time.
This wildfire is still classified as still being out of control but not growing at an excessive rate.
As far as what the outlook is moving forward into the weeks ahead, Kokotilo cautioned that the situation still has the potential to shift.
“Things could quickly change... Always err on the side of caution when enjoying the outdoors."
