A lack of precipitation in southern Alberta is prompting growing concerns about the danger of wildfires.
Effective immediately, the city of Lethbridge has put a fire ban in place in the Old Man River valley, inside the city of Lethbridge.
Citing concerns about warm temperatures, a lack of moisture and low humidity, the city announced Tuesday that there’s a ban on all open fires.
Residents are being asked to be extra careful, particularly when disposing of smoking materials that can easily ignite dry vegetation.
A lack of precipitation in the Calgary area is also increasing the fire danger.
On Tuesday, Calgary fire crews were forced to scramble to put out a large grass fire near the intersection of Deerfoot Trail and Memorial Drive southeast.
Smoke from the fire created a driving hazard as crews worked to snuff out the blaze.
According to Natural Resources Canada, the fire danger across a large part of southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan ranges from very high to extreme.
The latest numbers from Environment Canada show that only 4.5 mm of precipitation has fallen in the city of Calgary so far in October.
That compares to a normal October amount of 17.1 mm of precipitation.
The dry conditions in October are on top of record dry conditions in September.
In September of this year, Calgary only recorded .4 mm of precipitation, compared to a normal September amount of 37.1 mm — making it the driest September Calgary has experienced since 1885.