LAKELAND - Hard work and collaboration were needed to battle Saturday evening's blaze near Cold Lake that claimed anywhere from 80 to 100 acres of land.
Fire crews from the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA), Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN), and Cold Lake Fire Rescue, in addition to Alberta Agriculture and Forestry managed to contain and extinguish a large grass fire along Hwy. 28 on the south-end of Cold Lake First Nations on May 15.
"We had an extremely rapidly moving wildland fire that was moving extremely fast, and due to the limited access in and around that area where there were a lot of sloughs and rough terrain, and trying to get in front of it, a big concern for that one was if it were to jump the creek that was there coming off of the Beaver River... we would not run into the residential portion of the CLFN and that would have caused us some extreme concern," detailed BRFA fire chief Jay Melvin.
He continued, "The terrain was extremely difficult... and we had restricted access, we couldn't get heavy equipment on any of the land so it was all by foot."
Around 4 p.m. on Saturday, a call came in through 911 regarding a fire on CLFN across from Casino Dene located on Hwy. 28.
First on-scene was a fire crew from Cold Lake Fire-Rescue, who called for back-up.
"A call came in for support from Fort Kent and Ardmore (fire halls), so we sent two pumpers and about a dozen people," outlined Melvin. "And then we sent a couple of command trucks out of Bonnyville along with some more resources."
Approximately 24 firefighters from Fort Kent, Ardmore, and Bonnyville joined the Cold Lake members, but dry and windy conditions were a recipe for disaster.
The BRFA were authorized by CLFN leadership to call-in Alberta Wildfire, and were able to get the fire under control late-Saturday with minimal damage to structures and no injuries.
"I think we lost a couple of old sheds, but other than that no lives were lost and nobody got hurt," Melvin noted, adding the house close to the fire was saved.
"We had a Cold Lake crew set up there to protect that asset."
The fire resulted in the closure of a portion of the highway, with traffic being redirected by RCMP and local peace officers most of the night and the highway being reopened by 12 a.m.
"I know it caused a big inconvenience for the public, but we needed the space to move freely. We had helicopters landing on the highway, and we had a lot of apparatus moving back and forth," Melvin explained.
He noted, the gas station across the road from the fire stepped up in the fire crews' time of need.
"They were a great support; they came out with some food and we were able to get Gatorade and things like that for our crews. We appreciated the support they gave us, it made it a little easier. It was definitely a very large and aggressive fire to work on."
On Sunday, chiefs and deputy chiefs from participating fire departments went back out to the site to assess the area. According to Melvin, there were still a few hot spots, but they were "handed over to the CLFN fire department to look after."
"(The cause of the fire) is under investigation with the RCMP out of Cold Lake," Melvin stated.
In addition to the fire along the highway, crews were tackling another blaze in the Cherry Grove area.
"Sometime on Saturday afternoon a call went to 911, a riding lawn mower had started a grass fire which turned into about 80 acres," detailed Melvin.
Cold Lake Fire-Rescue responded under contract with the BRFA, and contained the fire within a few hours.
"It was definitely a couple of hours of intense groundwork there by Cold Lake personnel to get that one under control," Melvin said, adding once crews had extinguished that blaze, they were sent to assist with the fire along Hwy. 28.
Overall, Melvin described the evening as "busy and taxing, but none of this would have happened if we didn't have the great support of our volunteer firefighters."
The situation around the region
Much of the Lakeland remains under a fire restriction or fire advisory due to dry conditions. While no large fires are allowed in many areas, safe wood burning campfires are allowed most places.
The only region without a fire advisory or restriction in place is the MD of Bonnyville.
The wildfire danger rating in the Lac La Biche Forest Area is high, according to Government of Alberta.
The Lac La Biche Forest Area assisted with two wildfires outside the Forest Protection Area over the past weekend.
"There is no risk to any communities at this time," states the May 16 update.
Assistance was requested May 15 for a fire in the County of Thorhild. Alberta Wildfire provided 10 wildland firefighters and a helicopter to help fight the wildfire, and then assistance was also requested May 15 in the Cold Lake region and ended on May 16.
A fire advisory remains in effect for the Lac La Biche Forest Area section of the Forest Protection Area due to dry grass hazard
In the St. Paul area, Fire Chief Trevor Kotowich says "It still is extremely dry out, even with some of the moisture we have recently received."
The area remains under a fire restriction, which means there are no new permits being issued for open burning, and all existing permits have been cancelled.
"Campfires in approved pits are still permitted," confirmed Kotowich.
The St. Paul Fire Department responded to a number of fires over the last couple of weeks,"but nothing too serious."
At this point, Kotowich says he does not anticipate recommending a total fire ban ahead of the May long weekend, however, "That can, of course, change at a moment's notice."
The fire chief in St. Paul commended the public for remaining vigilant.
"I think overall, the public should be applauded for how understanding and careful they are, as it relates to fire. Fire is so unpredictable, as we have seen time and time again."
With files from Janice Huser
