The Grande Prairie Regional Emergency Partnership is urging members of the public not to involve themselves in firefighting efforts after an incident in the northern region of the County of Grande Prairie on Friday.
Officials say firefighters were responding to a fire when a member of the public operating a personal dozer put themselves and the crews in danger by knocking down trees into the fire and coming close to running over fire crews and their equipment.
Emergency management officials say the public must understand decisions on how to fight and eliminate any fire are highly coordinated, and urging the general public, no matter how well-intentioned, to refrain from interrupting a fire response.
The Dunes West Wildfire continues to be listed as out of control, however, GPREP says The wildfire continues to burn out of control at an estimated 1,581 hectares, the wildfire is 80 percent contained by dozer-created fire guards and the Wapiti River itself. However, high temperatures forecasted for the coming days may lead to new starts and additional challenges.