The week-long smoke advisory for the Grande Prairie area has been lifted for all communities; however, County Regional Fire Service Deputy Fire Chief Jason Nesbitt says now is a good time to address wildfire prevention for the rest of the season.
According to Nesbitt, the “number one” way to address the region’s wildfire concerns is early detection. He says calling 9-1-1 at the immediate sight of smoke or flames is critical in getting firefighters rolled out to address any wildfires that could get out of control.
“The number one thing that can help us, if you see a fire, call 9-1-1 immediately, if you see smoke and you don’t know what it is, call 9-1-1,” he says.
When it comes to matters of prevention, the Regional Fire Service has maintained that easy steps such as making sure smoking materials are put out entirely. Still, Nesbitt adds that regular vehicle maintenance can also be an important measure to avoid out-of-control sparks reaching the dry brush and ultimately causing a wildfire.
“To prevent them, things like not tossing cigarettes out of windows, that’s important, making sure vehicles are in good repair, things like dragging chains, trailer legs, catalytic converters that are failing can all start wildfires,” he says. “Controlled burning, making sure we’re burning in appropriate conditions so having screens on top of burn barrels.”
On the agriculture side, Nesbitt says rock strikes on farming equipment have led to several ignitions, so farmers are encouraged to be mindful when working in the field.
“Even when farmers are haying, we’re getting quite a bit of rock strikes that are causing fires, so looking and seeing if that can be done earlier in the morning, or in the evening, during the time when the humidity is a little higher.”
While prevention measures are critical for residents to take, Nesbitt says the toughest battle of this year has been naturally occurring wildfires due to lightning; however, the Deputy Fire Chief says early detection is the single most important factor in preventing wildfires from getting out of hand.
