CALGARY – A wide swath of the province is now under fire restrictions as a result of that heat.
The hot and dry weather is creating dangerous fire conditions.
“In these conditions, a wildfire can start very, very easily, and given the high temperatures and low relative humidities in most of the province it can spread really, really, quickly. Especially with the winds we’re starting to see at the end of the day,” explained Wildfire Information Officer Derrick Forsythe.
Forsythe says there are weather specialists monitoring the heatwave and conditions on the ground so fire teams can be ready for a wildfire should it start.
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He adds Albertans need to be extra careful this weekend while celebrating Canada Day to make sure they don’t spark a wildfire.
“There’s going to be a lot of people headed to the wildland this weekend. And the thing is, our stats showed that 88 per cent of all wildfires were human-caused,” he said.
“So the biggest things we can do as Albertans and visitors coming to the province to enjoy our natural resources it to take some extra time to be careful. Be careful with your campfires, be careful with your provincial campground. If you’re on an OHV, make sure you’re taking regular stops and there’s no building up of grasses or other material on the machines that can spark a fire as you’re driving along.”
He adds fireworks are not allowed on crown land under current fire restrictions.
Calgary does not have any fire restrictions as of yet, but the surrounding counties do at least have advisories in place.
-with files from Craig Lester
