Pastureland west of Wakaw caught fire Saturday night prompting a response from the rural fire department (Facebook Wakaw/Hoodoo Fire Dept.)

By Glenn Hicks

fire safety

Dry conditions help spark grassland fires

Apr 2, 2019 | 5:01 PM

We’re only a few days into April but already officials are sounding the warnings about proper open burning practices given the very dry late winter and early spring conditions.

There were fires in the Wakaw and Prud’homme areas on the weekend as tinder dry grasslands exposed by the melting snow caught fire.

On Sunday night Wakaw/Hoodoo Fire and Rescue responded to an incident 25 kilometres to the west.

“It was in dry pastureland and we’re not really sure what started it,” Deputy Fire Chief Albert Venne told paNOW. “We went in and fought it just with shovels and had some of the local residents help us. It’s too wet to go into the fields right now and we would have just got stuck.”

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Venne asked anyone doing any controlled burn in their fields to phone it in and to make sure they are well fire-guarded.

“Also avoid doing any burning of debris in your yard because fires can get away very quickly,” he said.

On Saturday afternoon, Prud’homme Fire Rescue, along with Aberdeen and the RM of Aberdeen/Sunset Estates departments were dispatched to multiple ditch fires along Highway 5.

According to their Facebook page, a truck was pulling a trailer and had chains dragging on the highway surface. It’s presumed this caused the ditch fires. The department also asked the public to be extra careful at the moment and not to throw out any discarded smoking materials.

Melfort Fire Chief Jason Everitt said people needed to be aware of their surroundings especially after the near record dry March.

He said ATV and UTV riders had to be careful at the moment and also warned smokers.

“Even though the ground itself may be damp from the melt, a lot of the dead fuels and grasses on the surface don’t absorb that moisture and they become dry, brittle and prone to ignition,” Everitt said.

He explained calling the provincial number to get a controlled burn number – at 1-866-404 -4911- would alert local authorities that if they saw smoke in the area they’d have a heads up as to what was going on. He also cautioned the public to ensure they were following local municipal bylaws regarding open fires.

Everitt said while the warm spring was welcome for most of us, he was also looking forward to some rain because the conditions did appear particularly dry.

“[The rain] just kick starts the greening process. This is that brittle time of year from the disappearance of the snow to when things green-up that fire departments are fairly busy across the province,” he said.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow