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Residents urged to take precautions as heatwave approaches

With a potentially record-setting heatwave set to hit the Grande Prairie region, residents are being reminded to keep safety a top priority.

Director of Community Services for the county and former Fire Chief of the Grande Prairie fire department Dan Lemieux is asking campers, and residents using public land to be vigilant with their campfires, especially with the recent hot, dry temperatures.

“Now that we haven’t had precipitation for a while, the wildfire risk is certainly higher than it has been.”

“I think that people sometimes forget about the basic rules, and certainly campfires are a big issue.”

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Lemieux says the two areas wildfires often start is from misuse of campfires and ATVs. He is reminding residents to always have someone keep a close eye on your campfire, and if you’re leaving a campfire unattended, stir, soak and stir again.

“Make sure they put out their campfires and make sure the ashes are cold… Use excess water as much as possible.”

In terms of large wildfires, Lemieux believes residents in the Grande Prairie region have been fortunate to have good fire prevention programs.

“So, we haven’t had to deal with large wildfires in our particular area however, there’s always that risk.”

Lemieux says this wildfire season has not come as a surprise with the low amount of precipitation and says Alberta Wildfire warned early on that it was a dry winter.

Residents are also being reminded to protect themselves from the heatwave by drinking lots of water, wearing sunscreen, loose-fitting clothing, and a hat, and limiting their sun exposure.

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