Springtime in West Central Alberta can be one of the worst times of the year for grass and other wildfires, with dry conditions leaving lots of flammable debris in fields and wooded areas just waiting for a spark.Spring 2012 hasn't been much different than other recent years, with fire departments across the region having already responded to many fires on farms, ranches and recreation areas.When grass and other wildfires get started the first reaction is often to try to fight the fire yourself. And while it may seem only natural to run for the garden hose or a water bucket, that is not, in fact, the best first reaction, says Sundre fire chief Marty Butts.Instead, the best order of things is to first ensure you and others on the property are not in danger, then call 911, and then, if and only if it's safe to do so, try to put out the fire with an extinguisher, hose, broom, water bucket or some other method, he said.“The first and most important thing is to make sure you and others on the property are safe, and then call 911 for help,” said Butts. “Once that is done, do what you can. It's natural to want to protect your surroundings, with a garden hose or whatever. But always make sure help is on the way before you try that because it can get worse fairly quickly and if help is on the way that's half the battle.“Everybody thinks they will try to get it out themselves (without calling 911 first), but then after you've spent so much time fighting it and it gets away on you, that's the time we could have been responding and almost there.”Grass and other wildfires typically seen on rural properties can start from any number of sources, including by burning barrels throwing sparks, exhaust pipes from truck or quads lighting up dry grasses, or by farm equipment striking rocks and causing sparks.Firefighters would much rather be called back to the fire hall when a fire is out rather than not being called out and seeing a fire go out of control, he said.“I always tell people, it's easy for us to turn around and go home, but when we are there for hours then that's a different story,” he said. “It's easy when we get called down or get to a place and the fire is out.”As part of its FireSmart program, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development has a manual filled with tips and suggestions for rural property owners.Among those suggestions is that owners have a nearby pond or tank with an emergency water supply on hand. Butts says that is good advice and something that could come in handy.“If all it takes is to go out and spend a couple hundred dollars for a little pump and a hose to put in it, that's all good business for sure,” he said.Anyone considering doing a controlled burn on their property (if fire bans are not in place) should always have the necessary fire safety equipment on hand, he noted.“You want to have your fire brooms and water on hand, and whatever else you need to make sure you can keep it under control.”Prairie wildlifes have been known to spread at seven kilometres an hour or even faster, with burning embers going as far as two kilometres ahead of the fire, says SRD.The Homeowners FireSmart manual is available online at http://srd.alberta.ca.Butts' comments come as a committee that looked into the Slave Lake wildfire in 2011 made 21 recommendations last week to help prevent similar fire incidents.Recommendations from the committee propose expanding fire weather advisories to include potential wildfire behaviour, developing more specialized initial-response firefighting crews, and involving more agencies and jurisdictions in carrying out FireSmart risk reduction projects in communities.“We hope that the committee's advice serves the best interests of Albertans and contributes to improved wildfire management,” said committee chair Bill Sweeney.“I am encouraged to see the government has recognized the need to improve its capability to protect the growing number of Albertans living in the province's forested communities.”
