Fire advisory issued for Airdrie ahead of possible record-breaking heat

On Friday afternoon, the City of Airdrie enacted a fire advisory, due to what officials had advised were current and forecasted hot and dry weather conditions.

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"The fire advisory will remain in effect until conditions improve. While campfires and backyard fires are currently allowed, they may be restricted in the future if conditions warrant. Residents are asked to exercise caution to ensure grassland or wildland fires do not start," officials stated in a written news release. 

Under this advisory:

• All existing fire permits are suspended, except for acceptable burn barrels and incinerators;
• No new fire permits will be issued while the fire advisory is in place;
• Some essential burning may be allowed, at the discretion of the fire department.

Prohibited activities:

• Any burning without a valid fire permit, other than a residential backyard firepit, is prohibited.
• Consumer fireworks are not permitted.

Exempted activities:

• Acceptable residential fire pits/ wood campfires
• Natural gas or propane fire pits (CSA approved or ULC certified)
• Natural gas, propane or electric stoves, barbecues, and smokers (CSA approved or ULC certified)
• Solid-fueled barbecue appliances, where the primary source of fuel consists of charcoal, briquettes, or wood
• Catalytic or infrared style heaters (CSA approved or ULC certified)
• Acceptable burning barrel (for farm use only)
• Incinerator fire
• Approved fires contained in industrial facilities or sites (energy, forestry or agricultural)

Fire pit guidelines:

• A fire pit shall not be located closer than three meters from a property line and from any combustible material, including, but not limited to, buildings, structures, fences, patio decks, trees and foliage as measured from the nearest fire pit edge.
• The fire pit height cannot exceed 0.6 metres when measured from the surrounding grade to the top of the pit opening.
• The fire pit opening cannot exceed one metre in width or diameter when measured between the widest points or outside edges.
• The fire pit must have enclosed sides made from bricks, concrete blocks, or heavy gauge metal. Constructed in a manner to prevent the fuel from falling out.
• Fire pit shall be covered by a substantial screen or grate/spark arrestor with openings not to exceed 12.5 millimeters/ 1.25 centimeters in any dimension.
• Clean, untreated wood is the only acceptable burnable material.
• Fire must be attended by an adult.
• Fires must be fully extinguished with water and not left unattended.

The city also noted that there are types of alerts in Alberta.

"The three that you will see most often are fire advisories (yellow), fire restrictions (orange) and fire bans (red). A forest area closure (black) is the fourth level, but because it is only available to provincial representatives within Alberta's Forest Protection Area (FPA), it is rarely used," the city' website notes. 

• Fire advisory - This level is meant to inform the public that the fire hazard rating has increased and there may be certain restrictions on burning. It may also be used as a warning that a more restrictive alert may be coming if the situation does not improve, or for short-term concerns like major wind events.
• Fire restriction - This level acts as a higher level of warning before a fire ban. Certain types of burning will be restricted, while certain types will be allowed. It is important to read the details of the fire restriction, as they will vary from municipality to municipality.
• Fire ban - A fire ban is usually put in place when a municipality has taken steps to restrict or prohibit most or all types of fire use within that area. It is important to read the details of the fire ban very closely, as they can vary from place to place.

"Any person who ignites, fuels, supervises, maintains or permits an outdoor fire within the municipal boundaries of City of Airdrie during a fire ban can be fined. Should the fire get out of control and emergency fire response is required, the person responsible for the fire can be charged the full firefighting costs," officials noted. 

However, provincial fire bans and advisories apply to all Crown Land in Alberta.

"The City of Airdrie's bans and advisories apply to all lands within the Airdrie city limits. This is because individual municipalities regulate their own fire status."

Other regional restrictions and advisories 

Earlier on Friday, Mountain View County implemented a county-wide Fire Restriction due to current and forecasted conditions, according to a notice posted on Friday afternoon. This restriction will remain in place until further notice.

What’s not allowed:

• All Outdoor Fires, as defined by the County’s Fire Bylaw, must be extinguished.

• Lighting any Outdoor Fires is prohibited.

• This includes open fires, fireworks, recreational fires not contained in acceptable fire pits, and fires that have previously received a Fire Permit.

What’s still allowed:

• Acceptable burning barrels

• Acceptable fire pits

• Acceptable outdoor fireplaces

• Barbecues

• Household fireplaces

• AER flaring

"All current fire permits and fireworks permits are canceled. No new permits will be issued until the Fire Restriction is lifted," the notice added. 

Wheatland County and Rocky View County remain under active fire advisories.

On Monday, Wheatland County announced it had suspended all fire and fireworks permits. In a social media post, the county stated that gas or propane stoves, CSA-approved fire pits, and household fireplaces are still permitted.

"The risk of fire spread is very high in dry grass areas," the county warned.

Rocky View County declared a fire advisory earlier in April, covering both the eastern and western portions of the municipality. 

According to an Alberta Wildfire update on Friday, very warm and dry conditions have pushed the wildfire danger in the Calgary Forest Area (CFA) to high.

"Although we are starting to see hints of spring and green-up, there is ample dry fuel on the landscape that could fuel fast moving wildfires. Dead and dry grass carries an extreme wildfire risk at this time of year," officials noted 

There are currently no active wildfires in the forest area. Since January 1, the CFA has responded to 11 wildfires which have burned 26.35 hectares.

Fire permits required

Alberta Wildfire also underlined that fire permits are required for any burning, except campfires, in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta.

Fire permits are free and can be requested from the Calgary Forest Area main office by calling 403-297-8800 or requested online. Permit holders have been contacted to delay burning until conditions improve and new permit requests may be delayed.

It was also added that a fire restriction is in effect for the extreme northern portions of the CFA. Areas south of the Red Deer River that are within Clearwater County only are impacted by this fire restriction. Visit Alberta Fire Bans for a detailed map of the fire restriction area. Under this fire restriction:

Prohibited:

• Outdoor wood fires on public lands in backcountry and random camping areas

• Any burning, other than a campfire on private land

• Fireworks and exploding targets

Allowed:

• Safe wood campfires in a designated campground (in an engineered ring) or on private land

• Backyard firepits

• Propane and natural gas-powered appliances (stoves, lanterns, fire rings)

• Charcoal briquette barbeques

• Indoor wood fires

• Open flame oil devices (tiki torches, deep fryers)

Airdrie's local forecast 

Friday will be sunny with southwest winds reaching 20 km/h, gusting up to 40 in the afternoon. The high is expected to reach 26 C with a UV index of 7, rated high. Overnight, skies will remain clear as winds ease, with a low of plus 5 C.

Saturday will remain sunny, with southwest winds again gusting to 40 km/h by the afternoon. The high will hold at 26 C with another UV index of 7. By Saturday night, cloudy periods are expected with a 40 per cent chance of showers and a low of plus 5 C.

Sunday will bring cooler conditions and cloud cover, with a forecast high of 12 C. Skies are expected to clear overnight, with a low of minus 1 C.

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