ST. PAUL - St. Paul Fire Department extinguished a brush fire south of town on June 9.
According to Deputy Chief Henry Thomson, the fire was in a wooded area along Township Road 580 and burned an area roughly 50 metres by 50 metres.
“The dense brush did make attacking the fire a bit difficult,” said Thomson.
Crews arrived on scene shortly after 4 p.m. after a passing motorist saw smoke and called it in.
Thomson said four trucks and 14 firefighters were involved in extinguishing the blaze, which took about an hour, “but crews remained on scene for another hour until approximately 6 p.m. in order to ensure all the remaining hot spots were fully extinguished.”
He said the investigation into the cause of the fire is continuing.
“I do just want to remind everyone to be careful out there due to the dry conditions. Keep campfires small. Dispose of smoking materials properly. Keep off-road vehicles clean, especially around the exhaust system,” said Thomson.
The County of St. Paul is currently under a Level 3 Fire Restriction, which means no open air fires including burn barrels are permitted; existing fire permits are suspended or cancelled and no new fire permits will be issued. Small wood campfires for cooking and warming are allowed on private land and in campgrounds.
As of June 11, there are 58 active wildfires in the province including 23 listed as out of control.
According to the interactive map on the Government of Alberta website, the County of St. Paul’s fire danger rating is rated as “very high” meaning, “fire is expected to start easily and to challenge suppression efforts,” and “extreme” meaning, “forest fuels are extremely dry and pose a very serious fire risk. Fast-spreading, high-intensity fires are likely.”
