Human-caused wildfires topped the list as the main reason for the Grande Prairie Forest Area’s unprecedented 2023 wildfire season.

According to Alberta Wildfire, 1,088 wildfires ravaged the Grande Prairie area in 2023, with 61 per cent caused directly by human action. Despite the seemingly high number of human-caused fires, the number is a reduction compared to the five-year average of 67 per cent.

Alberta Wildfire says the big standout for the season was the number of lightning-caused flames, representing 35 per cent of the wildfires in 2023, accounting for 1,750,867 hectares of burned land, nearly 80 per cent of the total burned this season, many of which are still burning in January.

Dry, warm, and windy conditions are credited with keeping the flames active through the winter. Alberta Wildfire is urging anyone who chooses to light fires to exercise extreme caution as holdover fires continue to cause concern for fire officials.

Of the 1,088 wildfires in the region, 381 were caused by lightning, 176 were residential, 125 were intentionally lit, 97 were caused by recreation such as camping and hunting, power lines caused 85, and 45 were related to agriculture.

Firefighters remain active throughout the region during the winter and residents who see smoke, or flames, or detect hotspots are encouraged to report it by calling 310-FIRE (3473).

A pair of Grande Prairie residents are facing gun and drug-related charges after attempting to flee police in early December.

According to Grande Prairie RCMP, just after 1 a.m. on December 4th, mounties spotted a vehicle driving erratically in the Hillside area while they were out on proactive patrol. When officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, the driver sped off at “a high rate of speed,” and reportedly lost control and came to a stop shortly after. The pair were arrested after attempting to flee on foot.

According to police during a subsequent search of the vehicle officers found a loaded shotgun with a defaced serial number, several live shotgun rounds and what they believed to be five grams of meth.

As a result, 24-year-old Jesse Bujold and 25-year-old Cheyenne Badger are facing several charges connected to the possession of a firearm, including possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and tampering with the serial number of a firearm; both are also facing charges for resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance. Bujold faces additional charges connected to the dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, failing to remain at the scene of a collision and failing to comply probation order.

Bujold has been remanded into custody and Badger was released. They both are next scheduled to appear at the Alberta Court of Justice in Grande Prairie on January 10th.

In an effort to make the end of the year safe for Alberta drivers, the RCMP carried out numerous enforcement initiatives during the holiday season.

According to the RCMP, between December 24th and January 1st, a total of 2,459 traffic tickets were issued across the province on top of the removal of 189 impaired drivers from the roads.

Media Relations Officer Corporal Matthew Howell says New Year’s was otherwise “normal” when it comes to traffic violations; however, the removal of 189 impaired drivers is an alarming number.

“We want less and less but unfortunately that doesn’t happen,” he says. “189 impaired drivers, that one is the only thing that jumps out at me, it’s still a decent amount compared to other long weekends around the fifties or sixties.”

Overall, 1,050 individuals were ticketed for speeding, with 15 of them ticketed for “excessive speeding” between 51 kilometres per hour over the speed limit, and one driver caught travelling 204 km/h in a 110 km/h zone.

Additionally, 1,354 drivers received tickets for violations such as careless driving, moving offences, and others.

The Rotary Clubs of Grande Prairie have kicked off the 31st annual Rotary Dream Home Lottery. Over a dozen local non-profit groups will benefit from funds raised through through the lottery ticket sales, all of which will be helping sell this year’s tickets.

Along with the Dream Home in Taylor Estates, built by Unique Home Concepts, the 2024 edition of the lottery also includes a Loyalty Draw for free gas for a year and a trio of Early Bird draws. Raffle Manager Melissa Coulombe says this year’s build has several highlighted features, including a hidden poker and whiskey room to an automated screened-in deck space.

“One of the largest conversation pieces is the pops of bold, fun colours throughout. People’s eyes bug out when then they step into some of the rooms. There are so many unique aspects about this home. The in-law suite is stunning. The wet bar. Unique Home Concepts likes to push the edge a bit and they have.”

The Loyalty Draw deadline is January 29th, with the first Early Bird deadline on February 19th. More information including where to buy tickets can be found on the Dream Home Lottery website.

A bike ride to raise money for cancer patients and research is set to kick off this July, and one Grande Prairie resident is looking to go the extra mile.

The Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer is a two-day-long event in Strathmore, where riders will face a 100 kilometre trek on both days while raising money for local families across Alberta. The funds will go directly to care centres like the Grande Prairie Cancer Centre.

Kara Gauthier, a Grande Prairie resident with an affinity for all things endurance, says the ride is important to not only her but her entire family after they lost her father to liver and pancreatic cancer in 2019.

“It started off with my brother, he started [the ride] when my Dad was ill, and he does it every year, so it has a lot more meaning.”

This will be the first time Kara is taking part in the ride and she says she is looking forward to taking part alongside her brother as they honour their father.

“Riding with him side by side, doing the fundraiser with him, it just kinda touches me,” she says. “My father taught me strength and perseverance, as he did his very best to stay active and positive through his fight with the disease.” 

Gauthier has committed to raising $2,500 before her ride and says she has plans to reach her goal through a months-long bottle drive before the event. As of January 2024 her total sits at around $500 raised; Gauthier says she is anticipating the bottle drive to be a hit especially as the holiday season comes to a close.

Interested individuals can make bottle donations by calling Gauthier directly at (780)-933-0028 or directly on her fundraiser page.

A fog advisory had been issued for the Grande Prairie area including the City of Grande Prairie, Beaverlodge, and Valleyview.

Environment Canada issued the advisory due to patches of dense fog in these areas. Due to reduced visibility and hazardous conditions, travellers are being advised to remain cautious on roads. Environment Canada says if you must travel, be prepared for areas of near-zero visibility, slow down, and watch for tail lights ahead.

Environment Canada originally had issued a fog advisory in the morning on Tuesday, January 2nd before ending it around 12 p.m. the same day. Due to dense fog re-developing early Tuesday afternoon, causing close to zero visibility at times, a new advisory has been issued. Conditions are expected to improve on Wednesday.

The RCMP has issued a few safety tips for residents planning to ring in the new year with a party.

According to Corporal Mathew Howell, arranging a safe ride home is the first step to ensuring your safety if you plan to celebrate the new year.

“The basic thing is make sure you have a safe ride home, if you’re not drinking great, but make sure if you’re on the road you’re safe, you’re not too tired.”

Howell says even if you choose not to drink or use drugs while celebrating, it is important to remain mindful of other factors that could impact the safety of yourself and those around you.

“We tend to forget that impaired is not just alcohol or drugs, it’s also impaired by a lack of sleep so if you are overly tired, find a place to stay, pull off on the side of the road, take a nap and then go again,” he says. “Remember with New Year’s Eve, there will be a lot more people on the road going to and from parties, so make sure you’re being aware of the environment around you.”

Additionally, Howell says the unfortunate reality is some drivers will be under the influence during the holiday, and the RCMP remains aware and is encouraging anyone who sees suspicious activity on the roads to report it immediately.

“Even though most of us will be safe and not be driving while impaired, statistically speaking, there will be people out there driving impaired so you have to be careful of that as well,” he says. “The RCMP will be aware of the impaired drivers and will be prepared to answer those calls so if you do see something, don’t be afraid to report it,”

The Grande Prairie Bus Service will be operating on adjusted hours on New Year’s Eve, available until 1:00 a.m. that evening.

The 25-meter program pool at the Eastlink Centre is open for use again after work was completed to fix malfunctioning sealant on the pool wall.

The City of Grande Prairie announced the pool would be closed for the work on December 18th. Innitially the city estimated it the repairs would take five days to complete. On December 21st, the city extended the pool’s closure timeline until December 29th “per the manufacturer’s recommendations” to give the sealant time to set and cure.

The city is thanking those impacted by the closure for their patience.

The Fairview Health Complex Emergency Department will not have a physician on-site for 24 hours in the first week of January, with the first 24-hour period starting Tuesday morning.

According to Alberta Health Services, the disruption will start at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, January 2nd and is expected to end at 7 a.m. Wednesday, January 3rd. The department will again be without physician coverage from 7 a.m. Friday, January 5th until 7 a.m. Saturday, January 6th.

However, the provincial health authority will cancel the disruption if sufficient coverage is found.

Nursing staff will remain on-site to provide triage and assessments. EMS calls will be rerouted to surrounding facilities, including the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital.

The County of Grande Prairie is urging residents to be “Firewise” with their New Year’s Eve fireworks displays.

Residents who choose to use fireworks on the holiday are asked to remain aware of their surroundings and have an emergency plan in case of any unexpected incidents.

Additionally, the municipality says due to minimal snowpack and dry conditions the risk factor for grass fires is considered high, and it is important to be mindful of the associated risks.

“Our firefighters are ready, but prevention is key,” the county says.

Residents who choose to celebrate with fireworks are being asked to remember animals, and neighbours as the loud noise can create stressful situations for pets. Pet owners are being asked to keep pets indoors, or in a secure, comfortable area, and let any neighbours know of their plans if they choose to set fireworks off.

County residents are also required to register for a permit before sparking up their displays and are asked to only use approved and legal fireworks for safety. Permits are available for free on the county’s website.

Grande Prairie dog owners will be asked to leave their pets at home if they plan to visit Canadian Tire in the new year.

The recent decision to ban dogs from entering the department store will take effect for Grande Prairie’s pup starting January 1st, 2024. Joanna Goc, General Manager of Canadian Tire Grande Prairie, says the decision was a hard but necessary one after a series of “unpleasant accidents” occurred in the store.

“It’s just a combination of a lot of things,” she says. “Our post that we have displayed on the store it’s just due to lots of unpleasant accidents that we had to make that unfortunate decision.”

The store made the announcement on December 27th, citing “irresponsible” dog owners that have caused safety issues for customers, and Goc says as it stands, there is no discussion around repealing the ruling.

“At the moment there is no chance for it [to be repealed] no,” she says. “I have a dog myself and I love bringing her here, but that’s part of the business unfortunately, we have to make sure that every customer that comes in is safe and happy.”

“I want to apologize to everyone who feels bad about the decision, unfortunately, that decision was made and it was really hard.”

After the policy takes effect in January, all of the store’s doggy cleanup stations with waste bags and bins will be removed and service dogs will be the only exception to the rule.

Building permits issued by the City of Grande Prairie more than doubled in November compared to those issued in October.

According to the latest report from Invest GP last month 76 building permits were issued worth over $20 million, a significant uptick from the 36 issued in October worth $7.3 million.

So far in 2023, $97,877,365 worth of building permits have been issued by the city.

The Cars for Christmas Lottery ticket sales are closing at 11:59 p.m. Friday, December 29th, and the Rotary Clubs of Grande Prairie are making on final push.

Cars for Christmas Lottery Coordinator, Jessie Urness says lottery ticket sales “have been going strong” and they hope that residents will continue to support the lottery until the end. Urness adds the Rotary Clubs of Grand Prairie are hoping in the final push they can raise “as much as possible” for the 11 non-profit groups that the funds will support.

“Considering the challenges many organizations are facing with a significant gap between escalating costs and available funding our Rotary Clubs and Lottery committees are working diligently to provide that much-needed funding.”

Urness says though the campaign is a ways from selling out the hope is this last push will bring them closer, as each of the non-profit groups will rely on the funds raised through the lottery to “continue important charity work here in our community.” The community groups receiving funding from the ticket sales, include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Grande Prairie and Area, the Grande Prairie Storm, GPPSD Education Foundation, Tiny Hands of Hope, Centre of Creative Arts, Grande Prairie Gymnastics and Cheerleading, Swan City Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Grande Prairie, After Five, Rotary Club of Grande Prairie, Sunrise Rotary Club of Grande Prairie.

A Christmas Eve drug bust has led to the arrest of a woman in Lac Ste Anne and the seizure of $15,000 to $20,000 worth of drugs and related items.

According to Mayerthorpe RCMP, officers responded to a call of a suspicious and “possibly impaired” vehicle in the Lac Ste Anne area on December 24th; resulting in police conducting a roadside stop.

After speaking with the driver, investigators noted “several suspicious items” in plain site, subsequently resulting in officers arresting the woman for drug-related offences and searching the vehicle.

Upon further investigation officers found significant amounts of substances they suspect to be meth, cocaine, and fentanyl. Police also found $2,715 in cash, “break and enter” tools, bear mace, and ammunition.

31-year-old Jamie Lynn Day was charged with nine offences including numerous drug possession and trafficking charges, weapons charges, and four counts of failure to comply with a Release Order.

Day has since been released on conditions and is scheduled to appear in Alberta Court of Justice in Mayerthorpe on January 25th, 2024.

The Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital Emergency Department have service temperarily disrupted until Friday morning due to the lack of physician coverage.

According to Alberta Health Services from 8 a.m. Thursday, December 28th to 8 a.m. Friday, December 29th emergency calls will be re-routed to the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital.

Nursing staff will remain on-site in the Emergency Department to provide triage, assessments, and referrals for patients to alternate Emergency Departments.

Anyone who experiences an emergency is asked to call 911.

Depending on their needs, patients should remain aware of services available through local pharmacies by calling Health Link at 811, available 24/7 for non-emergency health-related questions.

Staying the course and community initiatives are some of the main highlights from 2023 that stick out to Town of Sexsmith Mayor Kate Potter.

The town tookpart in the Communities in Bloom competition this year, where they recieved four out of five blooms. Potter says the result was extremely positive, but what she took note of was the work that the “passionate group” of residents put in to make the town look beautiful while also ensuring what they were doing was sustainable.

“I love the focus of communities in bloom, that it is not just about putting lipstick on a pig, it looks at are you doing all the things behind the scenes too that make a community beautiful.”

Potter says 2023 also saw the Sexsmith Chamber of Commerce join the Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce. She says this move is positive for members of the local business community. In November, the Grande Prairie Chamber held a meet and greet in Sexsmith; where Potter says around 40 business owners from Grande Prairie came to takepart.

“We are really fortunate to be neighbours with the third largest chamber in the province, but one of the most active. They have full-time staff, but they also have a super strong business community that surrounds them and are members and that makes all the difference,” Potter says. “Many of them already held memberships with the Grande Prairie and District Chamber because it is exactly that, it is a district chamber it is not only the City of Grande Prairie.”

Looking forward to 2024, Potter says public safety is a topic that is top of mind for her and council. She explains that the town has recently purchased a new Ariel firetruck which is not expected to be delivered until 2025, though Potter says she is optimistic could be sometime in 2024. Council also approved a new firefighter position which would give the Town of Sexsmith two full-time firefighters on shift during the week.

“That for us, when we think of emergency services and healthcare and times of crisis for people, it was a fairly easy decision to say if we can have a fairly immediate response when a medical call comes in that is someone’s life that can be saved. It takes five to seven minutes, and we all know that when we are in a crisis, that is when those five to seven minutes are critical.”

Potter says in 2024, a focus will be put on strategic planning and looking forward, explaining there are two years left for this council before the next election. She says it is important to the current sitting council that the community has been set up well from their decisions and the strategic plans they have in place.

Building relationships within the Grande Prairie community was a focus for the Grande Prairie Storm Jr A hockey team in 2023.

In her first year as Executive Director of the hockey team, Nicole Menzies says it was extremely important to the organization that the team be part of the Grande Prairie community and the community is part of the Grande Prairie Storm team.

“Grande Prairie is truly such a great place to live, work and play in the instance of the players. So it is really important to us that we are giving back in as many ways as possible,” she says. “It is important to us that the Storm have a community feel, and I think that everything the Storm are doing out in the community is sort of adding to that.”

Some of the ways the organization has been working on building those community relationships include visiting and working with local schools, along with working with some of the Grande Prairie minor hockey teams. Also in October, the Grande Prairie team held a “Hockey Hooky” game where ControlTech gave away 1,800 tickets to the Friday afternoon game. Menzies says because the game was at noon, students got the opportunity to skip school and come watch the game instead. She says the only way to describe the energy in Bonnetts Energy Centre during that game is “unbelievable.”

“The kids were so excited, they were great little fans. The really cool thing is for so many kids this was their first opportunity to come to a Storm game or really any kind of live game. So just getting them in the building and letting them have that experience was so much fun.”

Menzies says so far this season the team is seeing regular season ticket holders come out to support the team along with a whole bunch of new fans.

“We are seeing them come back again and again, which is really cool to think that we are kind of reaching a new sector of hockey fans, and giving them something to be proud of in their community.”

The Storm returns to the ice on December, 29th when they host the Sherwood Park Crusaders to a pair of back-to-back games at Bonnetts Energy Centre.

As the Grande Prairie Police Service continues building up its roster for their upcoming takeover of city policing from the RCMP, GPPS Chief of Police Dwayne Lakusta says residents can look forward to a number of developments in 2024. 

According to Lakusta, three classes of officers are set to hit the streets in the new year, with two “experienced officer” classes and one recruit class, totaling around 24 members in 2024. He says advertisement opportunities are already underway and residents should see recruitment efforts “before the end of 2023.”

“What I’m excited about is starting with our first recruit class, which is going to take place in Q2 of 2024, and our first experienced officers class,” he says. 

Lakusta says the gradual change includes the GPPS taking control of municipal enforcement, and the city’s outreach program. He says those current programs will be utilized appropriately and provide GPPS officers the opportunity to engage in larger scale operations in the city.

Lakusta’s “integrated model” is meant to strike a balance between intervention and enforcement, and the Chief says the model will open up options for street engaged individuals to be put on a clean path forward before having to resort to crime. 

“The approach we’re going to be taking with this integrated model is we’re going to be providing and sending the right resources for the right reasons to calls for service, that may mean outreach, that may mean a badge and a gun that’s showing up, but we want to make sure that we’re providing that right resource to the calls for service.” 

While Lakusta maintains that while his police service will be committed to providing alternative service for those who need it, those who commit crimes will be held accountable to keep the city safe for residents. 

“Rest assured that as we move forward it’s not all about diversion and providing that alternative response, people will still go to jail,” he says. “Those who continue to cause the most harm in our community, those who continue to engage in recidivist behaviour, those who cause the most fear in our community, they’re going to go to jail, people need to feel safe.” 

Additionally, Lakusta says 2024 could mark the beginning of a blended police service meaning if and when residents make a call for service, they might receive a team of RCMP and GPPS members to provide care.

As the Christmas season winds down, several city services have returned to regular hours; however, in some cases, services will be adjusted until the new year.

Some services will have reduced hours for New Year’s including- Bonnetts Energy Centre, the Grande Prairie Museum, Eastlink Centre, and Design Works Centre. Additionally, the Grande Prairie RCMP will be closed from December 30th to January 1st, but officers will remain on duty, and emergency response will not be interrupted.

Not all services will be reducing hours however, City Transit is accessible every day of the holiday week except for January 1st. Transit riders should expect regular weekday and weekend service hours, and late-night, on-demand service after 9 p.m. Anyone planning on being up late on New Year’s Eve can get home safely with on-demand service available until 1:00 a.m.

The Ernie Radbourne Pavilion will be open late on New Year’s Eve for the City’s “New Year’s Eve-ning Out” event, with live entertainment scheduled until 9:45 p.m. and various activities scattered throughout Muskoseepi Park. Fireworks are scheduled for 10:30 p.m. over the Muskoseepi Park reservoir.