A May 24 meeting between Westlock County officials and representatives from the Alberta government regarding the Echo Lake fire and the activities taking place on the Crown land where it started yielded few answers.
“I think everyone has different levels of frustration with the activities there and having very little tools in order to manage it more effectively,” said the county’s chief administrative officer (CAO) Leo Ludwig.
The county has few options when it comes to restricting access to the land, he said, because it is public land.
The extent of the municipality’s power comes in the form of instituting a fire ban, which it did soon after the fire. It later added off-highway vehicles and exploding targets to the ban, which has now been downgraded to a fire advisory in both the county and Town of Westlock.
The May 12-13 wildfire singed 250 hectares of forest in the eastern edge of the county and required not only local fire departments to extinguish, but provincial assets in the form of manpower and water bombers as well.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“We’re still waiting for the investigator’s report, so as of now, it’s still tentative until we hear for sure ... I expect that we will hear fairly soon,” said Ludwig.
The area has long been used by shooters and other outdoor enthusiasts from around the region, whether it be for target practice, ATVing or camping out. Some are respectful of the land, while others aren’t.
“As a county, we have even less ability to manage the activities that take place there than the province does,” said Ludwig.
Residents have long complained about the activities on the public land and dealt with forest fires threatening their homes on a yearly basis, which they suspect are caused by the carelessness of those who frequent the area.
“If somebody wants to go out there and quad, we as a county can’t say ‘No, you’re restricted from accessing this land.’”
It’s a difficult situation to solve, said Ludwig, as there are numerous opinions as to what can and should be done.
The province has barricaded the land before.
“On the other side of the coin, they have considerable pressure from members of the public not to shut it down.
“To be fair to the province, they’re dealing with people with competing agendas, so I can see how they’re struggling with this too.”
