State of emergency called off for Foothills

A local state of emergency for the MD of Foothills has been rescinded. As of 9 a.m. on May 29 a wildfire burning approximately 15 kilometres southeast of Bragg Creek was being held to 60 hectares in size with favourable conditions – temperatures of three degrees Celsius and 90 per cent humidity. A voluntary evacuation order that was put in place May 27 has also been cancelled. It had been issued for the extreme northwest corner of the MD of Foothills, west of Highway 762 between Highway 22 and 178 Avenue West. Currently the main concern in the MD of Foothills is heavy ground smoke in the voluntary evacuation area, affecting visibility for drivers. McLean Creek Road and West Fisher Road remain closed as of May 29. MD of Foothills Coun. Suzanne Oel, who lives in and represents the northwest area of the municipality, said news the fire is contained and the state of emergency was cancelled comes as a “huge relief.” “It’s just been very nerve-wracking for people,” said Oel. “Some actually did move their animals and they were quite worried, so this turn of events with Mother Nature co-operating here and answering prayers or positive thoughts, that’s been really wonderful.” She said the amount of smoke in the Priddis area had decreased significantly by Tuesday morning after two days of thicker smoke in the region. A light rain on May 29 also helped. The rain also helped remove a lot of pollen and highly-flammable poplar cotton, she said. With tinder-dry conditions due to a late leafing-out of trees this year, and a cold front forecast to bring high winds, everyone in the area was on high-alert, she said. “The cold front coming, that was the big unknown,” said Oel. Initially winds were expected to be 100 km/h in the area by 3 p.m. May 28, but they tapered down to about 20 km/h by the time they reached the MD, she said. In addition to light rain and increased humidity in the region, the fire was able to be contained, she said. “It’s a real relief to see that and residents were quite nervous and our fire department did really great with being out there the last couple of days,” said Oel. The Foothills Fire Department was assisting at Bar Kay Cee Ranch southwest of Bragg Creek, as well as visiting residents and structures along Highway 762 to notify people of the situation and look for possible risks that could arise depending on location of homes and tree lines, she said. She said for the most part, people were looking for information during the two-day wildfire threat. “People just wanted to know what was happening,” said Oel. “Apparently the rumour mill was just full-on. Whenever there’s smoke people are thinking it’s imminent.” It turns out the wildfire threat was an educational exercise for residents in being prepared for an emergency, she said. Oel first heard about the fire from residents who had seen smoke and were wondering what was going on, early Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, Foothills Fire was just being called in, as the wildfire was under the jurisdiction of Alberta Forestry at the time but had grown rapidly from 10 to 20 hectares in size. MD of Foothills staff were called in to set up the Emergency Co-ordination Centre and send out Safe Communities Alert Network (SCAN) notifications, she said. There was an issue with the MD of Foothills website, so additional staff were called in to resolve the issue and get everything in working order, she said. “You just never know what’s going to happen when you have to do things in a rush,” said Oel. “As much as we could we had it together within a few hours, which is pretty good considering we were on alert. We pulled it together really well in that timeframe.” She said she hopes more residents will sign up for SCAN notifications moving forward to alleviate some of the pressures put on Foothills 911 call centre and the fire department from people looking for information. It should also be a reminder to residents to consider how to deal with their animals in an emergency, she said. “Fire, flood, gas leak, whatever it is, we out west need to figure out what to do with animals,” said Oel. “Having a lot of warning was excellent because people may not have enough trailering, they may not have thought of who they’re bringing their animals to. “These conversations are likely going to take place and continue now with neighbours, with me as a councillor, and with the crime watch. “We have another opportunity to discuss being prepared in case of an emergency.”