Editor’s note: The Calgary Fire Department initially said eight people were displaced in the fire, but later clarified 10 people were forced from their homes. This story has been updated with the new information.
Ten people were forced from their homes after fire ripped through three houses in the northeast Calgary neighbourhood of Skyview Ranch on Tuesday afternoon.
The three homes in the 200 block of Skyview Springs went up in flames at about 3 p.m., a blaze that started in one home and spread to the houses on either side, the Calgary Fire Department said.
Smoke from the fire could be seen as far as four kilometres away, according to east district east district chief Gordon Best.
Images from the scene show one home completely destroyed by the blaze, with flames licking across the rooftop one of the two neighbouring homes. The two next-door houses were significantly damaged and are inhabitable, Best said.
The fire was well-established when firefighters arrived, Best said, and getting control of the flames was made more difficult by high winds, blowing in from the west at about 30 kilometres an hour.
“The wind certainly probably accounted for a bit of the spread, especially to the east side,” Best said. “The wind exacerbates fires. It can also cause fire to behave aggressively interiorly.”
Eight trucks and 22 firefighters were on scene and brought the blaze under control “in a fairly aggressive attack,” he added.
No serious injuries were reported as a result of the fire, with one person who was inside the home where the blaze started sustaining a minor abrasion which was treated on scene. However, two cats in that home died, the CFD said.
Crews are now working to find accommodations for the people who were displaced, and expect the people living in the two neighbouring homes will be able to return once repairs are done. The home where the fire started was destroyed and is uninhabitable, the CFD said.
Best said fire investigators were expected to be on scene for the rest of the afternoon to determine the cause of the blaze.
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