Moose Lake wildfire “started suspiciously,” says BRFA Fire Chief Jay Melvin

The Moose Lake wildfire that burned as much as 110 hectares started suspiciously said Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority Fire Chief Jay Melvin.

Melvin explained what happened at the scene during a press conference Wednesday afternoon and said due to the location of the wildfire on Range Road 474 that human factors are the only way the fire could’ve started.

“On that road, there are no powerlines, there is no way other than by human factor that this fire was started. There were four distinctive spots where the fire was lit on the east side of the road, but at this time there is nothing other indicating that it wasn’t human factor that caused this fire,” said Melvin.

“This was a significant fire that started suspiciously. Right now we don’t have any more information other than it’s being investigated. The details surrounding that are with the RCMP.”

 

The RCMP are investigating the wildfire and the M.D. said they are not making any further statements on the investigation.

The wildfire started at roughly 5pm on Monday evening.

Right now, the fight continues against hotspots and trouble areas of the fire. BRFA crews have returned to Iron River, La Corey and Glendon and the only asset on the scene is command presence and Melvin’s training officer.

There are still 20 to 25 Alberta Agriculture and Forestry staff on site, plus a helicopter still dropping water, said Melvin.

Melvin said as soon as he drove past Shaw House he knew this was a dangerous situation.

“When I showed up around 20 minutes after it was an extremely large wildfire and based on my own experience and seeing the fires in Fort McMurray, I could gauge what this fire was doing and where it was going.

“I had a landowner with me initially, we did try and get some access on the north side just to see how far the fire was spreading. But in that fire there is a lot of jackpine and a sandy bottom, which really helped us out because once it burned through it kind of burnt itself out.

“On the south side, we ran into problems with muskeg that you couldn’t get heavy equipment on…those are the trouble areas we’re working on right now,” said Melvin.

The total burn of the wildfire is estimated at 110 hectares, but cannot be confirmed until a geo-reference of the area is done.

The fire was difficult for crews to contain due to the changing winds on Tuesday.

Residents in Franchere, Kiev’s K HI, Moose Lake Pentalcost camp, united camps, and Pelican Park M.D. Park were evacuated and since been allowed to return.

There was no damage to M.D. campgrounds and no injuries.

Range 474 is now open to local traffic only.

“Right now we created some cat-guards in and around that area…the cat-guards will need to be cleaned up. That reclamation will definitely happen, but at this time we don’t have a timeline.”

The wildfire risk is still extremely high in the M.D.

“The risk is still extremely high in our area. Anybody in the M.D. knows where those risks there. We have risks on pasture land in the M.D., to crown land in the M.D., to the forest protection area. We have a very beautiful area to live in, but it does create some high risks,” said Melvin.

“Those residents that live in and around Moose Lake, north of the lake, Dupre area, all aware of the risks, and those that live in the forest protection area.

“Wildfires are always a concern for us, that’s why we put fire bans and restrictions…..but one thing we can’t control is when fires are set intentionally. That is the big concern for us.”