Lac La Biche County fire departments were kept busy last weekend battling numerous fires throughout the county.
High winds, warm temperatures, and low humidity combined to create an extreme fire hazard, and prompted county fire officials to place a complete fire ban on all burning within county borders.
On Saturday, firefighters were called to a wildfire in Boulder Pass, near Whitefish Lake. By Sunday crews had it under control, and Lac La Biche County protective services manager Mitch Newton said on Monday it would likely be extinguished that day.
On Sunday, crews were called to a wildfire near Venice. That fire was contained by late Sunday, with crews continuing to work to put it out on Monday afternoon, said Newton. The winds blew the fire away from nearby farms, and residents worked with firefighters to control the flames using farm equipment, with some people heading into the forest with buckets of water. Fire crews built fire breaks with heavy equipment, and used water tankers to soak fields surrounding the fire in an attempt to bring the flames under control.
Shortly after responding to the Venice fire, crews received a call of a fire near the Fork Lake subdivision that was initially thought to be threatening homes in the area. Fire crews responded, and the houses were not in danger, and nobody was evacuated, said Newton.
“They got it knocked down pretty quick,” he said of the work by Rich Lake fire department crews working on the Fork Lake blaze.