Firefighters rushed to the scene of two large grassfires in southern Alberta on Friday afternoon with smoke being seen as far as Nanton, High River and Cayley.
The MD of Foothills said in an update just before 4:20 p.m. that the first fire — which was about 200 acres in size and heading toward High River — was under control and firefighters were working to get control of two hay bales that were still ablaze.
The second fire — estimated to be 150 acres in size and travelling toward the hamlet of Cayley — had been extinguished, officials said.
Foothills fire chief Jim Smith said both fires — two kilometres apart — were being fought by crews from Foothills, Turner Valley, High River, Vulcan, Nanton and Okotoks.
Smith told Global News the cause of the fires was not yet known, but wind and embers were a serious concern.
Six residents had been forced to leave their homes as of 2:30 p.m. and 12 more were on standby. A short time later, the residents were allowed to return to their homes. Smith said no buildings or farm machinery were destroyed, but some fences and power poles were burned in the fires.
Area resident Trish Seitz spoke with 630 CHED as she and her husband were driving through the evacuation area.
She said the fire was both south and west of their home and they had moved their horses and dogs to the High River rodeo grounds around 1:30 p.m. before RCMP officers came into their yard telling them to evacuate immediately.
“There’s a lot of fire crews. The MD fire crews are here as well as many farmers and ranchers with tractors and water wagons doing what they can,” Seitz said as they drove back toward their home to see if it was in danger.
While they travelled on Highway 22, the sign warning drivers of the wind speed read 172 km/h, Seitz said.
“It’s basically trying to fight a fire in a hurricane.”
Photos sent to Global News showed smoke billowing from the landscape and blowing far across the sky as the fire burned.
The large fire was burning as Nanton RCMP warned of extremely high winds in the region, advising gusts of up to 100 km/h were expected.
Global News reporter Josh Ritchie described the wind as unlike anything he’s ever experienced before.
Terletski said crews were also dealing with downed power lines all over the county and small fires were starting all over the place because of those high winds. He said people were likely without power, but didn’t have confirmation.
Meanwhile, first responders were called to the scene of a “large out of control grassfire northeast of Airdrie.”
The blaze forced the closure of the corner of highway 567 and 281 as well as the intersection of highways 567 and 281, RCMP said. Highway 791 was also closed because of poor visibility due to smoke.
“People are asked to stay out of the area,” RCMP said.
“If you live in this area, please consider leaving your residence as well as tending to any livestock which may be in the area.”
The fire was about 1.5 kilometres long as of about 2 p.m., according to Rocky View County deputy fire chief Gary Barnett.
Barnett added there was some concern that the fire was going to threaten a gas plant in the area, but crews were holding the flames back.
No other structures were being threatened.
Crews from Airdrie, Balzac, Irricana and Crossfield were all helping to fight the Airdrie-area fire.
NDP MLA Shannon Phillips tweeted Friday afternoon that she was stopped near Nanton and said driving conditions were “very bad.”
“I’m stopped at Nanton now, taking a break from the last half hour of white-knuckling,” she tweeted.
–with files from Josh Ritchie and Adam Toy
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