CALGARY- Just in time for the long weekend, several fire bans are in effect around the province.
The M.D. of Foothills, Turner Valley, Black Diamond and the municipality of Crowsnest Pass have all declared fire bans, due to extremely dry, hot conditions.
That combination has acreage owners on edge.
“My biggest concern would be that we don’t have fire hydrants here, and with any acreage that’s usually the problem,” said Jim Cartin, while surveying his land just south of Calgary.
He’s keeping his lawn and pastures clipped, and hasn’t lit his fire pit all summer.
The ban means no fires are allowed in pits or burning barrels, and fireworks can’t be set off.
“It’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of manpower, it’s a lot of resources and logistics that need to happen in order to put out a fire,” explains Foothills Fire Chief Jim Smith. “On a day like today when the winds are over 10 km an hour and the humidity is below 30 per cent and the temperatures over 30°C, it’ll be extremely hard to put out the fire until after dark or for a couple of days.”
While no fire ban is in effect for Calgary, people are being urged to carefully dispose of cigarettes and use caution when starting fires in backyard pits.
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