Something needs to be done.
That’s the message coming from Bevin McNelly, a resident of what has affectionately been referred to as the “Westlock Warzone,” in the southeast part of the Westlock County, near the location where shooting on Crown land was found to be the cause of last year’s 250-hectare Echo Lake fire.
McNelly had an opportunity to bring his concerns to county at council at its March 25 meeting.
“The problem, as you all know, is the shooting and the ATVing that goes on and causes the fires,” said McNelly, who has been dealing with the same issue for some 15 years.
“The fires not only put volunteer firefighters at risk, they put county residents at risk and they also put homes and property at risk.”
Even throughout the winter, he said, the constant gunfire did not cease, which causes additional stress not only to landowners in the area, but their livestock as well.
He pointed out the shooters are mainly people from outside of the county, but the situation affects all county residents as it is their tax dollars that go towards putting the fires out.
“They come here and show no respect or remorse for the land and the fires and the problems that they cause,” said McNelly, adding that ATV riders also damage the roads significantly in the area.
McNelly went on to clarify that he’s not against these activities outright, but during the early spring when the fire risk is high, he says they should not be allowed.
“There is only one solution you should have in mind and that is closing the area to all off-road activity until the fire risk diminishes every spring. We as residents have put up with this for long enough,” said McNelly, who went on to propose the county hire someone to patrol the area during the spring wildfire season, especially on the weekends.
Filling such a position would likely cost less in the long run than having to extinguish fires every spring, he said.
Reeve Lou Hall noted the county now has the authority to patrol the land, but only has one peace officer for the municipality.
She also said she was hesitant to send him to an area unarmed where altercations could occur.
“I get your frustration,” she told McNelly, adding county officials met with officials from the provincial government on the issue, but the fact that it is Crown land makes it difficult for the county to lay down any restrictions.
“The thought of people shooting around my property doesn’t sit well with me either,” she said.
Coun. Dennis Primeau asked if there was ever any risk to buildings during the fires. McNelly replied there was a risk to buildings during every fire and him and his neighbours have been evacuated several times.
“We don’t want to be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars out there any more than anybody else. The frustration I have is that we do not have the authority to close Crown land,” said Coun. Fred Slobodian.
McNelly disagreed, saying he has been told the county has complete control over Crown land.
CAO Leo Ludwig provided some clarification.
“We do not have the authority to tell people they’re not allowed to access Crown land. We don’t have that authority,” he said, adding the recent meeting with Environment and Parks officials confirmed that.
Slobodian said everybody needs to get together on this issue.
“We want the same thing at the end of the day,” he said. “We have two different guys telling us two different stories and that can’t happen. We have to resolve that.”
Ludwig went on to point out that recent changes to the county’s Fire Bylaw restrict the use of explosive targets and tracer ammunition, a prohibition that does extend to Crown land.
“We understand what you’re going through. It has been a priority for us because of the safety of residents of the county. That’s paramount,” said Hall.
