Following the massive Echo Lake fire over the weekend, Westlock County has instituted a complete fire ban.
Enacted at 9:30 a.m. May 14, the ban means no open fires are allowed within the municipality.
That includes campfires, fires used for cooking, briquette barbecues, burning barrels, chimneys, briquette/propane fire pits, portable fire pits including those contained in designated fire facilities and the discharge of all fireworks.
The ban comes at the same time as public works continues to assess the damage from the week-long State of Local Emergency.
With one bridge still out of service and 17 roads closed, high moisture in the ground also means that the county’s road bans are still in place.
Chief administrative officer Leo Ludwig said the county is monitoring the situation daily and did not have an assessment of the extent of the damage from the flooding, but expects it to be expensive.
“Seeing how many road closures we had and if that bridge is not repairable, we could be north of $2 million,” he said, adding they’ll be applying provincial government financial assistance.
“We will give the province our estimates and there will be a request that the province consider announcing a Disaster Recovery Program for this event.”
He added that preliminary reports on the closed bridge — which runs over Shoal Creek near Linaria — has significant damage and could be closed for some time. He said he hoped to have a final damage assessment within a few weeks.
Pointing out they’re dealing with a perfect storm of dry vegetation, wet ground and high waters, Ludwig advised residents to continue to use caution while navigating county roads.
He said road bans could be rescinded if the county got a good week of sunny, dry weather.
“The ground is still pretty soft. If it stays dry over the next week or so, we could consider lifting the ban as early as late next week, weather depending,” said Ludwig.
“It’s very odd. One day it’s flooding and everything’s under water, the next day the dry grass is in a high burn state.”
Residents are advised to keep checking the notice board on the county’s website for up-to-date information on road closures, the fire ban and road bans.
Town of Westlock also issues fire ban
The Town of Westlock has followed Westlock County's lead and issued a complete fire ban within municipal limits.
The town declared the ban at 10:30 a.m. May 14, just an hour after the county issued its fire ban due to windy, hot and dry conditions in the region.
County fire services were kept busy over the weekend of May 12-13 fighting a wildfire near Echo Lake, eight kilometres east of Vimy. The fire is now contained and local fire crews have left the scene, leaving hot spots and any flare-ups with 45 provincial firefighters, who arrived May 14.
The town is reminding residents the fire ban prohibits the issuance of fire permits
Closures as of May 11
CLOSED ROADS
DIV. 1
• Landing Trail North of Twp 590
• RR 243 North of Twp. Rd. 592
• Twp. Rd. 594A between RR 243 and Twp. Rd. 595A
DIV. 3
• RR. 14 between Twp. Rd. 594 & 595A
DIV. 5
• RR 245 at Twp. Rd. 602
• Old Highway 2 from Tawatinaw entrance to RR 243
• RR 253 between Twp. Rd. 610 & 604
• RR 252 between Twp. Rd. 610 & 604
• RR 233 North Twp. Rd. 615
DIV. 6
• Twp. Rd. 632 between RR 264 & 263
• Twp. Rd. 630 between RR 264 & 263
• Intersection of RR 270 & Twp. Rd. 632
• RR 632 West of Rge. Rd. 263
• RR 642 east of RR 263
• Twp. Rd. 642 east of RR 265
DIV. 7
• RR 272 South of Twp. Rd. 640
• RR 13A North of Highway 663
• RR 15 at Twp. Rd. 643
CLOSED BRIDGES
Div. 3
• BF 70813 - Bridge over Shoal Creek, RR 21 North of Twp. Rd. 614
