Fire crews are building a fire guard and keeping a close eye on a wildfire that broke out about an hour northeast of Edmonton over the weekend.
According to Thorhild County Fire Chief Nick Kuzyk, the blaze began around 5 p.m. Saturday in the southwest corner of Thorhild County near where it borders with Sturgeon County.
Kuzyk said the fire had already consumed about 40 hectares of land by Saturday evening but he was unable to say exactly how large the fire was on Sunday.
The fire was first spotted by a fish and wildlife officer who was patrolling the area.
Kuzyk said the fire has only been burning grass and bush and that the nearest structure is a farm about two kilometres away. No homes or structures were considered to be under threat Sunday morning.
He added firefighters were unable to attack the fire for now but were using bulldozers to create a fire guard as a precaution. Kuzyk also said a helicopter would be dropping buckets of water on the fire Sunday.
When asked if residents should be on alert, Kuzyk said the fire was “nowhere near that point yet.”
While the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, Kuzyk said he believed it may have been started by an ATV.
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