Fighting fire with fire: Fort McMurray uses flames to burn dry spots
David Thurton | CBC News | Posted: April 12, 2017 10:55 PM | Last Updated: April 12, 2017
‘We want to make sure we don't put any fear in our citizens when we are doing this burn abatement’
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo isn't taking any chances with wildfire this year.
Crews are doing controlled burns in the area, even though experts say the risk is low of another monster fire ripping through Fort McMurray in the next decade or so.
On Wednesday, Wood Buffalo emergency services lit controlled fires in potential hot spots around Fort McMurray and will continue doing that throughout April.
Brad Grainger, deputy chief of operations and technical services, said firefighters will burn away dead and dry grass that could ignite a wildfire.
"Conditions are dry," Grainger said. "So we are going in and getting all those areas to make sure they are safe."
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Fort McMurray had 53 per cent less snow than usual this past winter, Alberta's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said in March, making the 2016-17 season Fort McMurray's 10th driest winter since Environment Canada began keeping records.
Last May's wildfire is considered one of Alberta's worst. It consumed around 741,550 hectares of forest, an area larger than P.E.I.
Grainger said the burn abatement program complements its $1.5 million FireSmart winter program, which removed heavier materials.
"They were going in taking down trees, taking out high volume," Grainger said. "Now we'll burn all that grass and all the small pieces of debris."
Before Wednesday's burn abatement program began, the municipality issued radio advertisements and posted advisories on social media to notify residents that they may see smoke or fire in their neighbourhood.
"We want to be sensitive to our citizens," Grainger said. "We want to make sure we don't put any fear in our citizens when we are doing this burn abatement."
During the winter FireSmart program, the municipality said it received a number of complaints from people who said the controlled burns triggered traumatic memories of May's wildfire.
The municipality has directed residents having a difficult time coping to its community wellness support resource site.