Fire jumps Battle River from Paintearth to Flagstaff, eight fire departments fight wind and rough terrain to extinguish

On Wednesday afternoon, five Flagstaff fire Departments responded to a grass fire on the southern border of Flagstaff County, when it jumped the Battle River and started up the hill towards the Alliance Hutterite Colony’s land.

The fire started on Paintearth side; responding Castor and Coronation departments arrived on scene mid-afternoon; and the other departments called in a mutual aid agreement; Alliance, Sedgewick, Killam, Lougheed, and Hardisty were called but Hardisty turned back to help the Hughenden/ Amisk area fire burning at the same time; and Galahad and Forestburg came later, when the fire they were already fighting was under control.

The cause of fire not officially determined, but it started near the railway bridge in an area called ‘the pillers,’ a popular party area. “Embers from a bonfire or campfire can burn for days,” says Cannady, “just waiting for a good gust of wind to fan it back into a flame.”

By Leslie Cholowsky, Editor

For more see the April 17/12 issue of The Community Press