As much of Alberta faces dry and windy conditions, officials are taking measures to prevent wildfires from starting.
Throughout parts of northwestern Alberta, including in the City of Edmonton, officials have enacted a variety of fire restrictions as crews have been called to deal with a growing number of wildfires.
“We’re seeing a higher than normal average fire season,” Geoffrey Driscoll with Alberta Environmental Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) said.
One area affected by fire restrictions stretches from Whitecourt, north to the border with Northwest Territories – the restrictions mean no open burning is allowed in the back country, and fires are not allowed, except in campgrounds.
“We haven’t seen weather like this for a long time, and it certainly does remind me of the summer that, a number of different fires were burning including the one that was around Slave Lake and the surrounding area,” Driscoll said.
“That’s something that’s always in the back of firefighters’ minds.”
As some restrictions enacted to prevent wildfires include banning fireworks, some planned events have had to be cancelled – including a fireworks display for the Town of Devon’s annual exhibition.
ESRD has an online map with all fire bans and restrictions for the province – Driscoll told CTV News it’s hoped efforts keep wildfires to a minimum are top of mind for Albertans while conditions are perfect for wildfires.
“We don’t see any sort of relief in sight, there’s not going not be any rain for the next little while, so these fires are going to get harder and harder to control,” Driscoll said. “That’s why Albertans need to be really careful.”
With files from Susan Amerongen
