Effective Monday morning, the County of St. Paul has issued a fire restriction, meaning no new fire permits will be issued, and no open fires are allowed within the municipality.
St. Paul Fire Chief Trevor Kotowich said the conditions over the next couple of days could result in “some very severe potential for fire weather.” A low relative humidity, mixed with plus 20 degree temperatures and possibly some strong winds could prove to be dangerous.
Although there is still some moisture in the ground, the top layer is extremely dry. Kotowich said the St. Paul department has been fairly lucky, but area departments like Ashmont and Mallaig have been busy.
But, a Saturday fire that was the result of a carry over burn from a couple weeks ago, kept the St. Paul department busy for six hours, just a few miles from town.
“It’s a combination of a perfect storm here for the next couple days,” says Kotowich, adding, anyone with questions about burning is encouraged to contact him in his office, or call the county office for more information.
Kotowich says it will be important for people to be mindful of the little things over the next few days, such as discarding burning cigarettes, and making sure ATVs are running properly and exhausts are cleaned out.
He also says that people who have been burning piles over the winter and spring should go check on the burns, to make sure they are out.
With the warm weather, people are anxious to have campfires, and “Safe campfires are allowed only with approved pits,” according to the restriction.
Monday was hectic day for the fire departments from across the County of St. Paul, with many of the crews deployed for 10 hours fighting several fires that broke out including one that managed to spread into the County of St. Paul public works yard.
One of the first calls was a fire on the western outskirts of town, down the Kings Motel road. A brush pile that had been burned nearly a month ago started the fire, as the high winds of nearly 60km/hr managed to catch an ember and start the grass fire. The County of St. Paul assisted using a dozer to contain the original fire, but this resulted in the fire spreading to the County public works yard. The fire in the County yard resulted in piles of railroad ties and fence posts catching fire, which caused the large cloud of black smoke that drew the curiosity of many people from the community.
St. Paul Fire Department Chief Trevor Kotowich urges the community that although the spectacle of fires such as these do spark curiosity, it is best for them to avoid the area so they do not get in the way of emergency crews. “When the fire in County yard took off, we obviously had some people coming around to see what was going on, but we encourage people to stay away when we are in the process of containment. We require space to do our job properly and we definitely want avoid any potential accidents with people who could accidentally get in the way.”Ashmont and Mallaig fire Departments were dispatched to assist in the containment of that fire.
There was another call for a fire east of St. Paul; St. Paul and Elk Point fire departments were dispatched. Another fire was reported in the Ashmont area , and Ashmont Fire Department shifted to that call to handle the blaze.
Kotowich says although the day was very busy a slightly chaotic, the responders all worked very well together to handle the situation. “All members on scene from each fire department did a great job or working together. The RCMP members that closed off 57th street and Prairie EMS members that also helped out did a great job and it was a job well done by the local members.”
Kotowich predicts that although the wind will not be as much of a factor in the coming days, fires are still at risk with the high temperatures and low humidity it makes for a high risk. “If the forecast is correct the conditions will improve in the coming days but everyone still has to be cautious.”
