The St. Paul Fire Department is experiencing its busiest spring in recent memory, according to Fire Chief Trevor Kotowich, with the department having responded to 37 calls between April 4 and May 21.
The St. Paul Fire Department is experiencing its busiest spring in recent memory, according to Fire Chief Trevor Kotowich, with the department having responded to 37 calls between April 4 and May 21.
The majority of the calls, at 24, have been fire-related, but there were also 10 motor vehicle collisions included in the statistics.
“I think I can count on one hand the days we haven't been called out,&” said Kotowich, late last week, shortly after returning back to the fire hall after responding to a small brush fire. He says the volunteers have been “ridiculously busy,&” and aside from 2011 being a rather dry year also, the only other year he remembers being close to this busy was back in 1994.
May long weekend was especially busy for the department and other emergency services in town, with a number of collisions taking place.
“The highways are so busy,&” says Kotowich, when speaking of the number of collisions.
When it comes to fires, many of the calls are a result of human error, he notes. However, the fire chief says he is hesitant to put a fire ban in place since it often penalizes the people who are following the rules. None of the calls this spring have been a result of people having campfires. Rather, most of the fire calls have been due to things like burning barrels spreading, welding sparks igniting dry areas, or fires from last season reigniting because of the dry conditions.
“It's not good, and not looking very good for moisture,&” said Dennis Bergheim, fire guardian with the County of St. Paul. He told the Journal last week that “we are probably not far away&” from considering a ban.
A complete fire ban was issued in the Town and County of St. Paul on the evening of May 25.
The ban prohibits all open fires including campfires, recreational fire pits, burn barrels, fireworks and provincial barbecues. All existing fire permits have been suspended, and no new permits will be issued. Gas or propane fired appliances for cooking purposes are permitted.
Earlier on Monday, a provincial fire ban, which applies to the province's Forest Protection Area (FDA) was put in place ban comes as continuing hot, dry weather has elevated the wildfire hazard to high, very high or extreme over most of Alberta.
The county joins the MD of Bonnyville and Lac La Biche County, both of which instituted a fire ban over the weekend. The which “is effective until further notice,&” according to a media release from the MD of Bonnyville.
The fire bans in these areas will "remain in effect until further notice" according to media releases on the MD of Bonnyville and County of St. Paul websites.
The County of St. Paul is encouraging all citizens to be careful when working or driving in grassy areas and also to be mindful of not allowing debris to collecting on a hot exhaust to the extent that a fire could be ignited.
In Saddle Lake, a fire has been burning in some thick bush for a couple of weeks. Last week, Kotowich was asked to drive out to the fire to investigate, although the fire chief said to his knowledge, no formal request had been made for assistance from Saddle Lake Cree Nation.
The fire is burning in the most southwest portion of Saddle Lake, which means it is much closer to the counties of Two Hills and Smoky Lake. St. Paul has not committed any resources to help with the fire, which Kotowich believes would be better dealt with using heavy machinery.
He said he could sympathize with other area fire departments that have been busy fighting fires this spring, considering how busy the St. Paul department has been.
Fore more information, visit albertafirebans.ca.
The body of the 38-year-old male and sole occupant of the Air Tractor water bomber was recovered from the crash scene later that day. Investigators were on route to the crash site to determine the cause of the crash, according to a RCMP press release sent on Saturday.
The latest information from the province indicated the fire encompassed 8,200 hectares, and is one of 24 fires currently burning in the province, and one of six that is considered out of control.
Residents of Wabasca, Alta., were evacuated this weekend due to wildfire as well.
This story has been updated from a previous version to include details of the fire ban enacted by the County of St. Paul on Mon. May 25.
