A large fire burning on the border of the MD of Foothills and Kananaskis has been brought under control and evacuated residents are allowed to return home.
Sometime after 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon, April 17, a grassfire started next to Secondary Highway 549 near where the road entered Kananaskis. It spread to the northeast and covered approximately 6 hectares of land in the Quirk Creek area between Secondary Highway 549 and 2311 Drive West.
Fire crews started to get the upper hand in the evening and at around 8:15 they were able to get the blaze under control, but they are continuing to fight the fire.
Six homes were evacuated as a precaution. None have been damaged, although the blaze did get close to two residences.
Residents are now allowed to return home and anyone in the area is asked to follow instructions of emergency personnel on scene.
A second fire near the Okotoks overpass is also contained and crew expect to remain on scene for another hour to finish clearing out any hot spots.
The fire covered almost three-quarters of a section of land on the east side of Highway 2.
For further information, watch the MD of Foothills website at www.mdfoothills.com and Alberta Emergency Alerts at www.emergencyalert.alberta.ca
