LAC LA BICHE - It's the start of a new year, much like the old year for Lac La Biche County fire crews, if the first week of 2022 is any indication.
Coming off a record-high year of 591 call outs in 2021, municipal fire crews responded to 10 alarm calls in the first five days of 2022.
"We've been busy so far this year, just three or four days in," said Lac La Biche County's Manager of Protective Services and Regional Fire Chief John Kokotilo on Wednesday.
The majority of the early start events involved motor vehicle crashes due to poor driving conditions, medical assists and one structure fire on the morning of January 2 that saw a residential garage on 101 B Avenue in Lac La Biche go up in flames.
"It's been a busy stretch," Kokotilo explained.
The garage fire, that was reported at 8:30 last Sunday morning, drew fire crews from Lac La Biche's Fire Station 1 and Plamondon's Fire Station 2. Kokotilo said the fire was put out relatively quickly and crews worked to keep the flames from spreading to nearby structures. The garage was completely levelled by the flames. Contents of the garage were also destroyed, and a vehicle parked beside the garage suffered significant damage as well.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, but the fire chief says the initial report lists it as suspicious and likely deliberately set.
Semi hits grader
Of the calls for vehicle crashes, none resulted in serious injuries, said Kokotilo, but all have been the result of poor road conditions during very, very cold weather over the holidays and into the new year.
"The road conditions have been absolutely brutal," he said, explaining that arctic temperatures, combined with heavy snowfall have made the usual challenges of winter driving even more difficult. "It's so easy when it's like this to catch the side of the road and get pulled into the snow built up in the shoulder. It just sucks you in and we've seen rollovers from it."
One of the calls involved a semi-tractor truck that drove into the back of a grader clearing a portion of Highway 63 near Breynat. No one was seriously injured in that call, which brought Plamondon and Lac La Biche crews to the scene.
Continuing cold advisory
Kokotilo says all motorists need to pay attention when the conditions are this bad. He also suggests one simple measure as the best defence against the poor road conditions ...
"Stay off the roads unless it's absolutely necessary," he said, adding that if travel is essential, drivers must be prepared for all outcomes. "You need to be driving with a lot more caution for your own vehicle and watching for others. You also have to make sure your vehicle is in top running condition and you need to have emergency provisions ... blanket, charged phone, candles ... with you. If you stall or go off the road anwyhere on a rural road, you can be in huge trouble."
The weather forecast for the next few days continues to see extremely low temperatures, with much of the Lakeland region remaining in an Extreme Cold Weather Warning. Going into the weekend, temperatures are expected to remain in the high minus 20 to low minus 30s, plus the chance of some snowfall. A rebound is in the weather forecast for the start of the new new week.
