Suzanne Oel – Division 4
Greetings! Sharing my News Update…
WILDFIRES close to home! In our heavily-treed west end of Foothills County, a fire could start at your own property, at a near-by property, along the highway or in the neighbouring Kananaskis, just a short distance to the west.
You could be the FIRST to see a FIRE! If you see an active fire flame, and you are concerned that the fire has not been reported, please call it in to 9-1-1 and report it to 310-FIRE (3473) if it appears to be coming from Kananaskis. 9-1-1 dispatches our local fire departments. Reporting the fire to 310-FIRE gets Alberta Forestry involved. They are responsible for wildland fire response in neighouring Kananaskis and coordinate response along the Foothills County/ Kananaskis boundary with Foothills Fire Department and our partners.
A recent situation occurred on August 2, 2023, when West Foothills residents called in due to the smoke, not knowing where the fire was located. Three fire departments went to look for a possible fire and the Calgary Forest Area of Alberta Forestry sent a helicopter to check out Kananaskis. In this case, while the smoke appeared to be local, the fire originated in B.C.
How to get a WILDFIRE ALERT on your cell phone: The “Alberta Emergency Alert App” is the primary alert App for all types of emergencies. You can subscribe to notices from “Foothills” and “Kananaskis” “locations” (and anywhere else you choose). If a fire reaches a threshold where there is concern for the fire escalating and affecting people and/or structures, the municipality(s) is notified by the attending fire departments. In the case of Foothills County, this would be the Foothills Fire Department and our partners. In the case of the Kananaskis Improvement District, Alberta Forestry provides notification. The affected municipality will immediately write an emergency alert message and send it out through the Alberta Emergency Alert App. You can download the App here: alberta.ca/alberta-emergency-alert.aspx
In preparation for response to fires and other emergencies, inter-municipal collaboration plans and emergency response plans are in place, where municipalities act in accordance with Alberta Emergency Management protocols. At the ground level, that shows up with fire departments and potentially mutual aid partners arriving on-scene to assist with the necessary action.
A recent fire incident in MacLean Creek occurred on July 31, 2023, directly west of Foothills County. In this case, the fire was identified on the “Alberta Wildfire App”, but an alert did not go out through the “Alberta Emergency Alert App”. The fire was “being held” soon after it started. The status on the Wildfire App was updated and then the fire incident was removed shortly thereafter. If there was a concern about this fire spreading and causing more harm, then the process would have occurred to get an alert message out, as outlined above.
Check out Wildfire Apps & Online Maps: You can stay informed about wildfires in Alberta and in B.C. through their Apps or online maps via your computer. You can download the “Alberta Wildfire App” to your phone and enable push notifications. Note that the Alberta wildfire dashboard with the latest wildfire news is updated every three minutes. Be sure that you have the latest version of the Wildfire App: open.alberta.ca/blog/?page_id=206
AB Wildfire Map online: www.alberta.ca/wildfire-status.aspx
BC Wildfire Map online: wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/map
Stay Informed: You can request updates about the “Calgary Forest Area”, including Kananaskis directly west of us, by signing
up for email notifications: srd.web.alberta.ca/calgary-area-update
Find road conditions: 511.alberta.ca
Find out where the smoke is: Firesmoke.ca
Find Fire Ban status: albertafirebans.ca
Be Prepared: Consider “FireSmarting” your home and property. firesmartalberta.ca (See the checklist & guide, here.)
firesmartcanada.ca
alberta.ca/wildfire-preparedness.aspx
getprepared.gc.ca/index-en.aspx
Fire Services in West Foothills County: Please see my February 2023 High Country News article for an explanation about this topic.
Other Considerations: To ensure the best emergency service response to your property, please keep driveways clear in all seasons, visibly post your 9-1-1 Address sign, register your gate code with Foothills Regional 9-1-1, and beware of accidentally starting a fire.
Highways 762 RCMP News Update: In addition to a directive from the new RCMP Staff Sergeant Don Racette, Turner Valley Detachment, to step up their presence in the area, a special day-long enforcement took place on July 30, 2023. Traffic Services patrolled the area of Highway 762 and conducted enforcement for 10 hours, which resulted in 13 charges, 9 of which were for speeding. Our thanks go to the RCMP members for taking care of business and sending a clear message! See the full RCMP report in the August 2023 Mountie Moments, here: foothillscountyab.ca/emergency-services/partner-agencies/mountie-moments
Just a reminder that residents can report situations to 9-1-1 as they are happening, or afterwards to share concerns through the 24/7 RCMP complaints line: 403.933.4262.
For Other News & Updates:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CouncillorSuzanneOel/
Email: Suzanne.Oel@FoothillsCountyAB.ca
With Best Regards,
Suzanne
