The County of Grande Prairie has issued a fire advisory for the entire county, including the towns of Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, and Wembley, effective April 15th, until further notice.
This comes due to current and forecasted weather conditions, and increased dry grass hazards throughout the region. Deputy Fire Chief Chad Cormack says county crews have already seen the threat the region’s dry, windy weather poses, especially as the last signs of winter fade away.
“Since Friday we’ve attended seven different vegetation fires, majority of them were grass fires,” he says. “There’s not a crazy concern with the size of the fires yet, I think the biggest one was about half a hectare, but again, continuous dry, windy weather just increases that risk.”
What it means
According to Deputy Chief Cormack, advisories are simply the first step in making the public aware of any fire risks in the region, and it is not uncommon to see advisories in the spring.
“Essentially it’s just the first step in notifying the people that our fire hazard is high, especially this time of year,” he says. “It just gets people a little more aware.”
Additionally, while existing fire permits remain valid, Fire Services will evaluate any new permit requests personally, issuing them on a case-by-case basis.
Safe campfires are still permitted; however, officials are urging “extreme caution,” especially with strong winds in the forecast. Burning is not permitted when winds reach or are forecasted to reach 12 kilometres per hour or higher.
