MEDICINE HAT, AB — Dry conditions across the prairie provinces have caused multiple grass fires.
One local fire chief says that same risk is present in Cypress County.
On Thursday, fire crews were battling grass fires in Sherwood Park and Alix on the outskirts of Edmonton.
Both have since been contained, but according to Cypress County Deputy Fire Chief John McBain, the risk of grass fires is still present, especially in Southern Alberta.
“At this time of year before the new growth of the grass starts to come, the old stuff from last year, it’s dry,” says McBain. “It’s fully cured and it burns really fast.”
McBain says until the vegetation starts turning green, the main thing residents can do is refrain from throwing cigarettes out of car windows.
“Don’t throw your cigarettes out the window, that’s number one,” he said.
In the month of April, Medicine Hat typically gets an average of 23 millimetres of precipitation. As of now, the city has had one millimetre.
However, wet weather is coming this weekend, and McBain hopes it will help mitigate any fire risks.
“It’ll definitely help,” he said. “With some warm weather after that, it will green up fairly fast I hope.”
