About 55 per cent of wildfires in Alberta are manmade, but prevention is simple.
During the summer months the heat and dry conditions can lead to wildfires, and even with the wet summer Central Alberta is having the threat is always lingering.
Fire Chief for the Eckville Fire District, Stuart Carde, says wildfires are still a “serious concern.”
“If we have a week of hot weather that moisture will be gone and it will be dry again,” said Carde in a phone interview. “The conditions are ever changing so we just kind of have to adapt to what they are.”
If you are off-roading or quading Carde says the best way to prevent wildfires is to stick to the trails and stay out of the long grasses as the engine and exhaust can start fires.
He says the other big prevention method is to always soak, stir and soak your campfire to assure it is completely out before leaving your site.
“A lot of the adults have heard of the soak, stir, soak, but I think it’s teaching your young children properly so when they grow up they have that ingrained in their minds already,” added Carde.
Even though Central Alberta has been lucky this year in terms of wildfires it is still good to assure your property is “fire smart,” especially if you live outside of the cities.
Carde said to make sure your gutters are cleaned out so there is no dry debris.
“The embers from a forest fire can spread for up to two kilometres depending on winds, so if those embers drop in the eavestroughs or something that could start the edge of your roof on fire and spread through your home,” explained Carde.
He also recommends not piling “a fuel” load, like firewood, up against your home as embers could possibly start the pile on fire and help it spread.
Carde’s last tips were to keep the grass around your property cut low and to plant leafy trees over pine trees.
Lightning strikes account for majority of the remaining 45 per cent of wildfires.
“There’s not a lot we can do about that, that’s Mother Nature, and when it happens we just have to deal with it,” said Carde.
More information on the current wildfire status and fire bans can be found at the Alberta Wildfire website.