St. Paul fire crews were busy with several calls to fires and motor vehicle accidents last week. The department was called out to assist with two vehicle rollovers, an ATV fire and small garbage pit fire east of town, said fire chief Terry Senecal.
On Sunday, the Elk Point fire department was busy with a blaze that destroyed the barn of Peter and Kristen Danyluk located southeast of Stony Lake.
The County of St. Paul issued a fire ban on Monday due to strong winds and dry conditions. The ban restricts all open fires including burn barrels, fire pits, charcoal barbecues.
“We are trying to send a message that we don’t want any open burning right now,” said Bergheim. “I would just like to ask everyone to be very cautious right now.”
The MD of Bonnyville also reported several fires, one resulting in the loss of a house and other farm buildings.
Another fire resulted in the loss of a barn and several storage buildings and on Sunday fire threatened several cabins on the east side of Muriel Lake.
The MD has also initiated a ban that includes all open burning. This includes burning barrels, fire pits, and charcoal barbecues. Gas fuelled barbecues are still permitted, states a press release from Bonnyville regional fire chief Brian McEvoy.
Both of the weekend fires in the County of St. Paul were small compared to the grass fire north east of town on Thursday evening, said Senecal. Highway 881 was closed briefly and some of the nearby residents were notified that they may have to leave on short notice but thankfully nobody had to be evacuated, said Senecal. The fire did not reach any homes.
“Crews were working there until 1 a.m. this morning,” said Senecal in an interview later Friday morning.
The fire did get into some trees and brush in the area and because of all the hills, it was difficult to maneuver the trucks around. The cause of the fire is unknown but it started in the grass close to the road. Senecal said the fire was called in immediately but strong winds spread the fire quickly.
On Tuesday, fire crews were called out to a fire further northeast, however, it turned out to be a false alarm, said Senecal. The farmer had plowed the entire perimeter of the field and it was not a windy day and would not spread, he explained.
