A dump-truck pulling a broken trailer is suspected of being a rolling fire-starter on Thursday night, sparking at least five grass fires along a 30-kilometre stretch of Highway 55 near Rich Lake.
Regional fire officials say the driver of the dump truck likely didn't notice that at some point along his westbound travel on the highway the skid-shack trailer he was pulling ... had become just a skidding trailer.
"The probable cause of this event was a broken frame on a trailer from the truck and trailer unit," says Lac La Biche County Regional Fire Chief John Kokotilo.
He said the incident is still under investigation, and Department of Transportation commercial vehicle officers are looking into it.
Others who were looking at it that night, likely couldn't believe what they were seeing. The calls started coming in at around 5:30 pm.
"We had multiple calls from travellers along Highway 55," said Kokotilo, adding that in all his years of firefighting, he hadn't seen anything similar. "It's the first that I've encountered — especially with the number of fires ignited over a substantial distance."
Crews from Lac La Biche and Rich Lake fire halls were called to put out the fires. None of the blazes were considered to be significant, burning mostly roadside grass and some fence-posts. One fire did get into part of a windrow, but it was contained and put out. All five were said to have been extinguished by 7 pm that night. Kokotilo said that Agriculture and Forestry crews had also checked on the areas and would assist with any possible flareups.
As firefighters worked on the fires on Thursday night, 30 kilometres west of the first one, police vehicles had a dump truck surrounded near the Highway 36 intersection. The truck, with a collapsed trailer behind it, had emergency road hazard signs around it as well as the flashing emergency lights of police vehicles. A tow truck had also been called to the scene to remove the damaged trailer.
'Could have been much worse'
The fire chief said the time of year and the location likely kept the bizarre incident from becoming a devastating one.
"We were very fortunate that we had cooler temperatures and higher humidity at the time, or this event may have been much, much worse," he said, quoting from a firefighter's old adage. "The largest of fires can start from a tiny spark."
Kokotilo said the incident serves as a lesson to highway travellers in all categories of vehicle; commercial, recreation or passenger.
"Check your equipment, your vehicle, your trailers ... to ensure they are roadworthy," he said.
The Lakelandtoday.ca newsroom is awaiting any further information on charges or fines that may be levied against the driver.
Officials say no one was injured in the incident.
