By Angela Brown

UPDATE: RM of Battle River issues fire ban

Apr 7, 2017 | 12:00 PM

UPDATE: The RM of Battle River has instituted a fire ban effective immediately, and until further notice.

Town of Battleford firefighters are urging property owners to be careful if they are conducting any controlled burns, as conditions are ripe for grass fires now.

The fire department recommends people wait until the area land has more moisture before starting any small fires on their property.

Fire Chief Larry Gabruch said due to a lack of snow this winter and current windy, dry conditions, anyone conducting a burn at this time will need to be extra vigilant to ensure the fire doesn’t spread.

As an example, firefighters were called to a rural grass fire at about 3:40 p.m., on April 5, to an area about nine kilometres south of Battleford. Crews extinguished a wild land fire located near an area known locally as “Shotgun Alley.” It took 16 firefighters, with several fire trucks and a quad, up to 7 p.m. to put out the fire.

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Brush, grass and trees were involved in the blaze.

“It never really threatened any residences,” said Gabruch. “We were able to contain it before it threatened any farms or acreages.”

The fire was caused from the heat of a chainsaw exhaust. An acreage owner had been using the equipment to cut timbers to clear his land had rested the chainsaw on the grass when the fire started.

The chainsaw exhaust was hot enough to ignite the grass.

“It’s an indication of how dry it is, as early as it is into this spring,” said the chief, adding wind also played a part in causing the fire to spread.

Gabruch said no one was injured and there was no property damage reported as a result of the grass fire, which covered about 240 acres.

The chief pointed out there were several other properties in the area that were at risk because of the blaze, but firefighters were able to “redirect and extinguish” the fire before it entered those farm yards.

 “At this time of the year, until we get some greenery, it’s really not recommended that any burning occur,” the chief said.

The fire department is monitoring the situation and is hoping for some snow or rain over the weekend to improve ground conditions, although there is no burn ban in effect currently.

“If we don’t get any other moisture there is a high probability we will have a fire ban in place in about a week’s time,” said the chief. 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow