Sunday was an incredibly busy night for Edmonton firefighters, as they were called to five large grass fires, 17 smaller outdoor fires and 54 fireworks complaints.
With no snow on the ground and the weather as dry as it has been, conditions are ripe for grass fires.
One of the many calls on Sunday to Edmonton Fire Rescue Services was for a large grass fire in the Ellerslie area.
There were Diwali celebrations in Edmonton on Sunday evening, many of those featuring fireworks. EFRS would not confirm if any Diwali festivities directly caused grass fires.
However, fireworks debris and garbage was left Monday at several of the fire sites in Ellerslie, at Ivor Dent Sports Park just off 50th Street and Ellerslie Road, and in the Silver Berry area of southeast Edmonton.
Jesse Seguin was watching the fireworks from his bedroom window Sunday night when he “started seeing everything go sideways.”
“It started to smoke up and then it spread so fast, almost to the fence. I called 911 right away,” he said. “Fire trucks came. (They) put it out pretty quick.
“It is concerning,” Seguin said. “It spread so fast… It could have jumped over to the condo building.
“What if it jumps? What do we do?”