St. Albert fire crews have been busy this week fighting small brush fires in the Braeside and Forest Lawn ravines.
Firefighters have been rushing to small blazes throughout the ravine all week, on some days responding to roughly half a dozen calls.
The fires have so far caused only minor damage and no one has been hurt.
Fire Chief Ray Richards said the department hasn’t had any problems with the fires this week, but they always pose a danger because they tie up valuable time.
“They are more of a nuisance than anything else. The guys have gotten them all out pretty quickly.”
At times on Thursday crews had to be dispatched from brush fires to other alarms and even other brush fires.
“That is the biggest risk, that something comes in while we are all out dealing with one of these.”
Richards said the department deals with these kinds of fires every year. On top of tying them up, there is always a danger when fire crews roll lights and sirens to an emergency that they could become involved in an accident.
He said earlier in the spring the fires would have been a much bigger danger, but the trees are now a lot greener and less prone to burn.
Marnie Cappis, whose home backs on to the Forest Lawn ravine, said she is concerned one of the fires might not be reported immediately and would take root.
“If nobody notices it right away, it could move right up to our house really quickly.”
Richards said it appears the fires are being deliberately set, which only adds to the frustration of local firefighters.
He said with the fairly dry conditions and the fuzz from poplar trees coming down, it is possible an errant cigarette butt has started some of the fires, but not all of them.
“With the frequency of them, unless there is a chain-smoker out there, they are probably being deliberately set.
Richards is asking anyone who spots something suspicious to call the St. Albert RCMP, especially if they see someone leaving an area right after a fire ignites.
The St. Albert RCMP can be reached at 780-458-7700.
