Cypress County Fire Chief reflects on first anniversary of Hilda fire

“When I got the call from my deputy, he said, ‘you need to come up here. we’ve got a major wildfire happening,’” Meyer recalled on Wednesday. “As I responded, the wind was picking up.”

He added, “As I approached closer to Hilda, I could see miles and miles of smoke. We knew right away we had a major incident.”

Multiple stations in Cypress County and the surrounding area went out that evening to battle the blaze, assisted by farmers and ranchers in the area. Meyer said they tried contacting aircraft for assistance, but with the high winds, it wasn’t safe.

Meyer was thankful for everyone who responded to get the fire extinguished in the county.

“Everyone gave 110 per cent, working as hard as they could to contain this fire,” he said. “(we) worked the flanks towards the head, but with that wind pushing it so fast, to reach the head was very hard.

“That’s when I contacted the Office of the Fire Commission in Saskatchewan. We came up with a plan, and we were able to stop the fire in Saskatchewan.”

Sadly, tragedy struck while fighting the fire. James Hargrave, a member of the Cypress County Fire Department in Walsh, was killed following a collision involving the water truck he was driving while fighting the fire. He was 34 years old.

Meyer noted he went to high school with Hargrave, and was able to reconnect with him when he became Fire Chief.

Hargrave’s loss still impacts the community a year later.

“He was a very dedicated person,” said Meyer. “He cared about the land, he cared about people. A very loving husband and father. It’s a huge loss to Cypress County. He was a very good person, an all-around good person. It’s tough.

“It’s a really hard day for a lot of people.”

A scholarship in Hargrave’s memory is being set up at Lakeland College.

Memories from the fire still linger at Cypress County. Meyer said the hair on the back of his neck stood up when the alarms went off at the fire station Wednesday morning.

He says resources were made available to firefighters who needed help following the fires, and they’re still there if needed.

“PTSD and mental health, that’s a huge thing, especially in first responders” he said. “We respond, we go see things, we lost a comrade, a friend. That’s very taxing on the mind, the body, everything. Any members that are needing assistance, we are offering to give them help.”

The Office of the Fire Commissioner in Alberta later determined an improperly extinguished burning pit caused the fire. A statement from the office believes the high winds “provided additional oxygen to a remaining ember or embers from the previous fire,” which were then spread to the surrounding vegetation.

In the months following the fire, Meyer proposed a bylaw, which Cypress County later passed, that puts Cypress County under a fire restriction from March 1 to October 31, and no fire permits would be issued.

“People are still allowed to have recreational fires, use burning barrels – we are really encouraging everybody to start looking into incinerators, they’re way more safer than burning barrels- we’re just not issuing any permits for large burns,” he said.

“From being with the County for a year and a half, one thing I’ve really noticed is a huge trend, is we’re not worried about the day of the burn, it’s two, three days later, (and) improper extinguishing. It’s just one tool for hazard reduction that we can make safe for the residents, our firefighters, because every time our firefighters respond, their adrenaline is high, they’re respond, and we don’t need to have any more accidents.”

by Charles Lefebvre

Cypress County Fire Chief reflects on first anniversary of Hilda fire

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