BONNYVILLE – On the morning of April 25, three stations from the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA) worked together to extinguish a fast-moving wildland fire near Highway 55 and Range Road 471.
BRFA Station 2 Goodridge, Station 4 Iron River and Station 6 La Corey were dispatched to the wildfire at 9:55 a.m.
“An investigation is still underway, but we believe the fire was caused by leftover embers from a campfire on the weekend that were flared up by the wind,” said Regional Fire Chief Dan Heney with the BRFA.
High winds from the southeast drove the fire quickly across a piece of farmland, but away from the campsite, Heney explained. The fire was, however, threatening a camp trailer and several quads.
“The fire was stopped at a side-branch of Manatokan Creek and brought under control fairly quickly,” he continued.
Local farmers who rent the land, as well as crews from the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Department out of Lac La Biche, assisted in completing an extensive overhaul of the burned areas to ensure the fire was completely out, according to the fire chief.
Roughly one hectare of land was burned, with some damage to a trailer and a camp outbuilding being reported.
Although there are no fire bans in place now, conditions are favourable for fires to ignite and spread fast, says the BRFA.
Residents are asked to use caution and if a fire starts to spread or is not contained, to call 911 so emergency fire crews can start responding immediately.
BRFA respond to calls within the municipality
Crews from Iron River, Bonnyville and La Corey stations responded to a car fire in La Corey on April 20 at 12:46 p.m.
Responding to a quad rollover near the Tucker Lake Thermal project on April 23, was Station 4 Iron River, Station 5 Bonnyville, and Station 6 La Corey.
Later in the evening of April 23, Station 5 Bonnyville was called to a suspected fire at the rodeo grounds at 11:25 p.m.
“This turned out to be a permitted fire several kilometres south of the rodeo grounds,” stated Heney.
Vehicle collisions with wildlife
On April 19, Station 3 Glendon responded to a motor vehicle collision involving a car and a deer on Highway 28 near Range Road 482, at 1:25 p.m.
A few days later, on April 23, Iron River and La Corey stations responded to a motor vehicle collision involving a vehicle and a deer. The collision occurred about 6 kms north of La Corey on Range Road 460, at 2:58 p.m.
False alarms
Earlier this week, BRFA crews were dispatched to two incidents that turned out to be false alarms.
On April 24, Station 5 responded at 7:20 p.m. to a fire/panic alarm near Township Road 605 and Range Road 464A. Crews would determine the call turned out to be a false alarm.
The next day, April 25, Station 5 responded to a fire alarm in the area of 40 Ave. and 39 St. at 7:52 a.m., which also turned out to be a false alarm.
