Fire ban shuts down burn pits; transfer sites overflowing

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

A padlock was secured tightly on Wheatland County’s largest burn pit last week, as extreme weather conditions forced the municipality into a county-wide fire ban and prohibited the Carseland waste transfer site from utilizing the pit – leaving sites at maximum capacity and turning away further materials.
Carseland joined the county’s seven other sites – Gleichen, Rockyford, Cluny, Rosebud, Standard, Hussar, and Strathmore – when an advisory to ban all fire permits, including the burning pits at the waste transfer sites, was issued July 6.
As a result of the dry spell, all fire permits were suspended until the ban is lifted.
“Big burns like that require a fire permit and are not acceptable, so that’s why we are getting so backed up at the transfer sites,” said Lisa Bastarache, communications officer for Wheatland County. “That’s why we’re asking people not to bring the stuff in right now until we’ve had a chance to get rid of what’s there. They’re all pretty full.”
The province issued a full fire ban for Alberta forests on May 25, as the province battled 629 wildfires since April 1, blazes that destroyed 13,098 acres. With temperatures rising into the 30s, Wheatland County plunged into a one-in-one hundred year dry spell, according to Alberta Agricutlure and Forestry.
As a result, waste transfer sites, such as Carseland, are struggling with the volume and can no longer accept burnable materials.
“I did a burn eight weeks ago and it took nine hours, that’s how much stuff we have,” said Joe McCluskey, transfer site operator at the Carseland waste and transfer site. “This rain that we got, it never hit Gleichen or Standard. So those fire chiefs out there won’t let us burn because they didn’t get the water we did. It’s pretty bad, but we can’t argue with Mother Nature.”
As of June 9, Wheatland County declared a fire ban representing an extreme fire risk. Due to dry and windy conditions, the ban includes usage of camp stoves, solid fuel barbeques, incinerators for farm and acreage use, and recreational camp fires. However, internal household fireplaces and liquid fuel barbeques – propane or natural gas – are exempt from the ban. As a result, all outstanding burning permits have been suspended indefinitely. For now, Wheatland County transfer sites will have to sit tight and residents remain patient, until the fire ban is lifted.
For more information regarding fire bans and the situation within the county visit www.wheatlandcounty.ca.