Spring marks the start of fire season in Alberta and with it another year’s worth of trials and tribulations for our local volunteer firefighters.
On April 6 Westlock County issued a municipal-wide fire restriction that means anyone using burn barrels, fireworks, or setting backcountry fires could face steep fines.
Now it’s in all of our best interests to keep an eye on current fire conditions — information can be found on local municipal websites, or on the Alberta Fire Bans site, but you don’t have to be weatherman to know that it’s bone dry out there.
So be smart, stay informed and for God’s sake if you have to light a fire in these extreme conditions, be extremely careful.
Granted, there are some natural fire causes we can’t control: lightning, high winds and dry grass.
But human-caused fires can be controlled and the responsibility falls on all us.
Little things like smokers throwing cigarettes out of car windows, or quaders going out for a ride without proper spark arrestors can have huge ramifications. In dry conditions, the smallest of embers can spark a grassfire capable of destroying homes.
And think of the volunteer firefighters, who, at this busy time, set aside their own lives, jobs and responsibilities to answer fire calls.
They’ve got to get out of bed a 3 a.m. if a fire breaks out, or run out from work if it’s during the day and then return for the rest of their shift.
So if you’re on the road and you see a green flashing light, get out of the way.
As we’ve seen after a busy week of controlled burns, brush fires and at least one destroyed building, firefighting, though still a volunteer enterprise, is a full-time job at this time of the year.
Big brush fires sometimes require volunteers to be on scene around the clock for days at a time. It takes hard work and dedication to meet these requirements and many do so without thanks.
And it’s that hard work and dedication that keeps us safe during this dangerous time of the year.
We want to thank each and every volunteer firefighter working in town or around our county for their service.
Without them, well, we’d all be up in smoke.
