There is an extreme wildfire risk across southern Alberta right now.
A stretch of very hot weather, coupled with virtually no rainfall in over three weeks has dried things out considerably. In fact, the last time the Lethbridge area recorded any precipitation was July 27th, so the entire month of August so far has been bone dry.
Lethbridge County issued a fire ban Monday (Aug. 17) as did Vulcan County with no burning allowed at all.
A fire ban remains for the Lethbridge River Valley area as well.
Fire restrictions meanwhile, have been issued this week in a number of other southern Alberta municipalities including the Town of Cardston, Cardston County, the MD of Pincher Creek, and MD of Willow Creek.
Because of the burning restrictions and bans in those areas, no fire permits will be issued until further notice.
Farmers across the region are also being asked to take extreme caution with their harvest operations as fires can easily be sparked by machinery in these current conditions.
More information on fire bans, restrictions, and advisories can be found on the Alberta Fire Bans website.