Albertans are being told not to drive ATVs and other off-highway vehicles (OHVs) through public lands in southern Alberta while the fire risk remains high.
People who violate the ban face a fine of $575.
“Most off-highway users are very responsible,” said Chad Morrison with Alberta Wildfire. “But we want to make sure … people out in the forest are taking extra precaution.”
The move has disappointed some riders, like the VanBerkel family of Calgary, who are spending a week in the McLean recreation area.
They have two dirt bikes and two ATVs, along with a trailer, worth more than $50,000 in total parked at their campsite.
“It’s kind of very depressing,” Mike VanBerkel told Global News. “You spend all of this time to spend some fun in the summer, buy all the machines that add to quite a bit of money and you can’t even use them.”
“It’s a bummer,” his 10-year-old son Dylan added.
“I guess we’ll sit here and have a couple of drinks, play cards … and just visit our neighbours and talk,” Judy VanBerkel said.
“I guess that’s all we can do now.”
The ban on OHVs includes the mountains and foothills in the northern boundary of Waterton Lakes Provincial Park and the Fire Protection Area south of the Red Deer River, where a fire ban has been in place since last week.
Morrison said in the past two weeks there have been 20 wildfires in the Fire Protection Area south of the Red Deer River and that officials believe they’ve found one fire that was caused by an off-highway vehicle.
Morrison said OHV bans are “relatively new” but that the vehicles can cause fires “just with the build-up of debris and stuff under the exhaust.”
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Minister Oneil Carlier said Tuesday southern Alberta is as dry as parts of British Columbia, where thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes with more than 100 fires burning across the province.
“Hopefully we can get through this season without any major fires,” he said.
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The announcement comes just a day after Parks Canada said it would close Sunshine Village and other areas in Banff National Park because of the 5,100-hectare Verdant Creek wildfire that is burning about 2.5 kilometres from the resort.
No heat watches or warnings were in effect in Alberta or B.C. as of Tuesday, but hot, dry conditions are expected to remain consistent well into next week.
Parks Canada said wildfire smoke and fire suppression activities were affecting visibility on Highway 93 south through Kootenay National Park and the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) through Banff National Park Tuesday night.
“Highways will remain open as long as safe driving conditions can be maintained,” Parks Canada said in an online update.
“If smoke settles or thickens in the valley bottom, motorists should expect speed reductions, flagging personnel and pilot vehicles to ensure safe passage.”
The government said Tuesday it has 689 firefighters, 69 helicopters and 18 air tankers on hand across the province, as well as 200 additional resources deployed in B.C. It said it is closely monitoring wildfire conditions in both provinces.
A fire ban remains in place across much of southern Alberta. The cost of violating the ban is a $287 ticket.
For more information on fire bans in your area, visit albertafirebans.ca and download the Alberta Emergency Alert App.
With files from the Canadian Press, Global’s Reid Fiest, Gary Bobrovitz and Erika Tucker