What appears to be a couple of intentionally set fires in town had the St. Paul Fire Department busy Sunday evening, along with RCMP being called to the scene.
St. Paul Fire Chief Trevor Kotowich confirmed that there were two fires that appeared to have been intentionally set, about five to 10 minutes apart from each other, on the west side of town.
“A tree was lit on fire,” and was fully burning when fire crews arrived, said Kotowich. Not far away, near the Living Hope Medical Clinic, a garbage can had also been lit on fire.
Although he could not comment on any investigation, he did confirm that RCMP attended the scene on Sunday.
Once again, conditions outside are getting to the point where people have to be very cautious when doing any kind of burning, whether it is a campfire or if they’ve pulled a permit to do a larger burn, says the chief.
By Monday at noon, a level 3 fire restriction had been put in place for the County of St. Paul. Kotowich confirmed the restriction on his way out to a call.
This week’s forecast calls for warm, summery weather, although Kotowich notes that thankfully, there are no high winds expected.
“Just be cautious,” says the chief.
The M.D. of Bonnyville put a fire advisory in place on Monday.
