People living near International Paper south of Grande Prairie may notice smoke in the area this week. The County of Grande Prairie is doing a controlled burn with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry along the railway tracks close to the pulp mill.
“The goal of the burn is to remove grass along the railway tracks in order to reduce the risk of wildfires,” explains Fire Marshal Ken Atamanchuk. “The controlled burn will promote community safety, and it will also provide our emergency responders with valuable cross training and wildland firefighting experience within a controlled environment.”
As long as the weather behaves, the burn should start Tuesday, May 9th. If there’s high winds or rain it could be postponed or take two days.
A smaller controlled burn is also planned for the same day north of the Wapiti Bridge, east of Highway 40. People can expect to see smoke, fire trucks, and other equipment in both locations.