High winds over the past couple of weeks have dried out the River Valley, play a part in a fire ban being put back in place in the region.
According to Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services Chief Fire Marshall Troy Hicks, the numbers for both the area’s fuel load and for the initial spread index are at extremes. He says while some people may not be happy to see frost on their vehicles in the morning, it is beneficial when it comes to wildfire mitigation and safety.
“I am hoping that as we have hopefully a regular fall, we don’t get snow too early, but just with the overnight frost and maybe humidity go up a bit, it will lower the numbers,” Hicks says.
He says that because the fire risk is so extreme from being dried out by the winds, it means something as simple as a cigarette not being properly disposed of could start a fire. Hicks explains that when a fire starts burning, all it wants to do is consume everything that is in its path.
“If someone was on the walking path and they chucked it off and that wind was going, that fire could climb up, it would get to the top of the coolies in minutes, and it depends on the fuel load that’s there.”
“We continue to try to look at different ideas, different ways we can help minimize the fuel load down there. But we also want everyone to be able to enjoy the River Valley. It’s a beautiful area, a great place to go for walks when it’s not crazy windy and things like that.”
Hicks says he does not want to put fear in those who have businesses or homes on the coolies edge, because those areas were built with fire safety in mind.
He adds that the department also continues to train year-round for situations such as grass fires, and investments have been made in new equipment that will also help fight these fires.
“We have our new side-by-side that helps us get into any location down in the River Valley to put out a fire. We have our new sprinkler trailer that can be set up.”
“The reason we continue with all this equipment and continue to train is that accidents do happen, and also events happen. Sometimes we could have a fire down in the River Valley that’s caused by natural causes, lightning strikes, different things like that, an electrical issue.”
Hicks says in the late spring, beginning of the summer, the LFES responded to a couple of large grass fires in the Lethbridge Country Club area that were coming up the coulee.
“One of them actually came right up to Scenic and actually burnt some of the wooden posts off the corner on the west side of Scenic Drive. So it got very close.”
Hicks says there was no major structural damage and no injuries reported. But in his opinion, one large fire in the river valley a year is one too many
