Dry spring conditions a concern for wildfire season in Alberta
Posted April 25, 2023 6:59 pm.
Last Updated May 8, 2023 10:26 am.
Spring is in the air, but so was the smell of smoke in northwest Edmonton, Monday, as fire crews battled a massive grass fire in the Albany neighbourhood.
“It’s been particularly dry this spring, and with that comes grass fires,” explained Darren Rachkewich, acting platoon chief of Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS).
“Because this spring has been so dry, it’s a particularly difficult season for grass fires. The month of April is difficult, but once we get into May things will green up and will be less of a risk, but still very much a risk.”
EFRS received a call at 2:25 p.m. on April 24 reporting a grass fire at 127 Street and Anthony Henday Drive. Six units were dispatched, with the first unit arriving on scene at 2:36 p.m. By 3:20 p.m., a total of nine units were on scene and the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) was assisting with traffic control in the area.
At 4:16 p.m., EPS and Alberta Health Services were supporting the evacuation of the Albany neighbourhood and an Emergency Operations Center was being set up for evacuees. Residents were cleared to return to their homes at 5:16 p.m.
The flames came within metres of some homes in the area. Fire crews were about to put out the blaze before any buildings were damaged.
The fire was called out in the Albany area at 9:33 p.m.
A total of 17 EFRS units and crews worked to extinguish this fire.
Crews returned to the site in the morning of April 25, to check for any hot spots and to put out any smoldering.
And while the rain Tuesday afternoon is welcomed, the dry spring conditions are a concern for fire officials.
“We’re seeing lots of dead dry vegetation on the landscape this stuff can ignite very easily and spread quickly,” said Melissa Story, provincial information officer with Alberta Wildfire.
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The cause of the fire in northwest Edmonton is still under investigation, but Story says nearly all spring wildfires in the province are human-caused which means they are preventable.
“Last year, 61 per cent of our wildfires were human-caused, so that’s higher than we’d like to see.”
To date, there have been 136 wildfires in Alberta in 2023. More than 40 per cent of those have been in the last week. Many areas of the province are under a fire advisory, restriction, or ban due to the dry conditions.
“Until all of the grass greens up and the trees turn green, wildfires are a cause for concern. We’ve seen a higher wildfire danger in the province, but that said we still have snow in some areas throughout the province so we’re just going to see what spring throws our way,” said Story.
“People are going through training right now at our Hinton training facility. Wee’re opening air tanker bases, we’re opening outlets across the province, and we’re getting prepared for the wildfire season to come. We’ve got crews that are ready and positioned in areas of higher fire danger so we’re ready to take on what comes our way.”
Fire crews in Alberta say they are ready and positioned in areas of higher fire danger and are ready for what’s to come this wildfire season.
