St. Albert residents can relight their driveway fire pits this week now that the city has lifted its fire restriction order.
The City of St. Albert downgraded its fire restriction to a fire advisory on July 26.
The city has been under a fire advisory since April due to dry, windy conditions. The advisory asks residents to be cautious when lighting permitted fires and disposing of smoking materials.
That advisory has been upgraded to a fire restriction several times this year in response to hot, dry conditions, most recently on July 12. Fire restrictions ban all open burning, including fireworks, burn barrels, charcoal barbecues in parks, and screened wood-burning firepits in driveways. Screened wood-burning firepits in backyards with a permit and barbecues on private property fuelled by propane, natural gas, or charcoal are still allowed under a fire restriction.
Recent rains and cooler weather let the city drop back to a fire advisory on July 26. Residents with the necessary permits can now use fireworks, screened backyard firepits, and burn barrels with a permit. Residents can use screened firepits on driveways, barbecues fuelled by propane, natural gas, or charcoal on private property, and charcoal barbeques in parks without a permit. Residents should continue to fully extinguish firepits after use and to dispose of smoking materials properly.
The vast majority of Alberta was still under a fire restriction or ban as of July 26 as roughly 170 wildfires, including one that forced the evacuation of Jasper, were still raging.
Visit stalbert.ca/city/eps/fire/fire-bans for the latest rules on fire use in St. Albert.
