'I thought for sure our house was going to be gone': Residents react after grass fire threatens Edmonton neighbourhood

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of a grass fire that threatened homes in northwest Edmonton on Monday.

The fire broke out around 2:30 p.m. in the area of 127 Street and Anthony Henday Drive.

By 4:30 p.m., flames had gotten so close to homes in the Albany neighbourhood that Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) evacuated the residents.

Jaquie Dumas, who lives on Albany Way, described the experience.

"I was driving home, saw a whole bunch of smoke, and I knew that it was in the back of my house," she told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.

"By the time I got here, it was in the middle of the field behind me. And you saw a whole bunch of fire tornadoes and they started to kind of change direction and head towards the houses." 

A grass fire burns near a home in northwest Edmonton. (Credit: @rylanszzz/Twitter.com)

Brandon Bell and his two daughters were also watching the fire as it crept toward their home.

He said he knew it was time to go when the wind changed.

"I knew that we were going to be in trouble. This whole area is very dry. So I grabbed my kids, ran to the house, and started packing up stuff just in case," he said on Tuesday.

By the time Bell got his children in the car, the fire was nearly at their door.

"The fire was already almost at our backyard, so it moved extremely fast.

Smoke from the fire was so bad, it forced the closure of Anthony Henday Drive eastbound at Campbell Road.

Around 5:30 p.m., EFRS declared the fire was mostly under control, and homes were no longer being evacuated.

Firefighters remained on scene for much of the evening putting out hotspots.

Video captured by the CTV News Edmonton drone shows just how close the flames came to homes, with scorched grass just metres from some property lines.

EFRS said the homes were saved because of the hard work of its firefighters.

"It wasn't so much luck, it was the work of our firefighters on scene," Acting Platoon Chief Darren Rachkewich told reporters on Tuesday.

"The guys are trained very well and we have some great equipment on the job, so they handled it pretty well."

Rachkewich said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but added that most grass fires are started by human activity.

He said less snow over the winter has caused tinder-dry conditions this spring.

"It's been particularly dry this spring, and with that comes grass fires."

"April is normally our worst month for that sort of thing. Once we get into May then things start to green up."

Bell said he and his family are sad to see the damage to the green space behind their home.

"This is a natural habitat and there’s a lot of wilderness here and animals that stay here, so it’s quite sad."

But he's grateful for the actions of first responders.

"The fire department and the police did a really good job of taking good care of everyone and their homes."

"Seeing the flames that close to the house, I thought for sure our house was going to be gone when we returned."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Matt Woodman and Miriam Valdes-Carletti.