As of Monday afternoon, the St. Paul Fire Department and the County of St. Paul issued a fire ban following a residential blaze that severely damaged a yard and caused serious concern in the Lafond area on Sunday evening.
According to an RCMP press release, it is believed that the blaze was the result of a fire pit left unattended. The fire completely destroyed a small storage shed and a travel trailer located on the property, but nobody was hurt in the incident.
The release also states that a witness on scene “advised that a small grass fire spread quickly to some nearby trees and then onto the trailer." While local residents attempted to extinguish the flames, their efforts were unsuccessful due to the high wind speed at the time.
St. Paul Fire Chief Trevor Kotowich pointed out that with the current dry conditions, even a controlled fire can lead to very dangerous consequences.
“The conditions are certainly not favorable right now for fires. The fire weather index is extremely high right now. With all the warm, dry air we've been having along with the high winds, conditions are ideal for wildfires."
Kotowich pointed to the Sunday incident as a great example of how quickly and how easily things can go wrong in the current dry climate.
“Last night's (Sunday) fire was a great example, it was certainly an accidental incident, but it shows that you can never be too sure, and it's always a great idea to make sure your fire is completely out before you leave it unattended," said Kotowich.
“We're all but certain that there was a previous fire that was within their little confines. They had a nice, secured fire pit, but unfortunately with the winds that were gusting through town at around 6 to 6:30 p.m., it must have picked up a hot ember or something, and with the conditions being so dry the way they are, it doesn't take much for just a blade of grass to catch on fire and spread to what we saw."
County of St. Paul Fire Guardian Director Dennis Bergheim said that the current fire ban will remain in effect until further notice.
“It'll probably stay on as long as it needs to until the weather conditions change as far as getting moisture. The other issue is that it's a critical time of year now, they call it a green up period we're waiting for. Until everything greens up, that could change too. With a combination of moisture and greening up of vegetation, we could lift the ban at that time."
Bergheim reminded residents to “be careful" as the dry climate persists in the county.
“There are absolutely no outdoor fires permitted, including open fires, campfires, brush piles and burning barrels. Also the discharge of fireworks is prohibited during this ban," he said. “The only things that will be allowed are things like gas-fueled barbecues, those electric fire pits that they have, and fuel-powered camping stoves."
