With hot, dry and windy conditions leading to wildfires across the province, both St. Albert and Sturgeon County have put fire bans in place.
The bans prohibit fire of any kind in both communities with gas barbecues or similar devices being the only exceptions. In St. Albert that means no use of fire pits or any other open fire. In Sturgeon all fire permits are now cancelled and the county will not be issuing any new ones. County officials are also pleading with ATV users to ensure they have spark arrestors in place and to exercise caution when using their vehicles.
Acting St. Albert Fire Chief Darrel Bliss said the dry conditions, combined with such high winds means the city has to do everything it can to lower risk.
“They are all around us in the province here and the provincial resources are taxed to the max and so we want to do our part and do something preventive.”
Several massive blazes were raging out of control across the province including one that destroyed a large portion of Slave Lake.
Sturgeon County firefighters with help from Sustainable Resources Development were still battling one blaze near the Casa Vista subdivision.
The fire is burning north of Township Road 560 along the Sturgeon River between Range Road 225 and Range 224. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire was under control and firebreaks were holding. Crews were hoping to have it completely extinguished by Tuesday evening.
According to county spokesperson Shelia Macaulay, the fire department believed it had the upper hand on the blaze, but that would be subject to the rapidly fluctuating weather conditions.
Macaulay said the county does not believe the residents in Casa Vista will have to be evacuated, but was asking them to remain alert because it is a possibility if the situation worsens.
County crews have been called to several fires in the eastern portion of the county over the last week, but all of those have been put out.
