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The necessity of honouring a fire ban

Fire bans are not meant to ruin your day. They are instituted by the chief of the fire department, during periods of extreme dry conditions, and are done so in an effort to protect our community.

Fire bans are not meant to ruin your day.

They are instituted by the chief of the fire department, during periods of extreme dry conditions, and are done so in an effort to protect our community.

There is not somebody just sitting around, whimsically deciding which summertime activities to nix.

Fire bans are not about deciding who can have a wiener roast and who can’t.

Like every other law our community has in effect, this one requires obedience on our parts — however much it may gall us to do so, because the consequences can be disasterous, not only for ourselves, but for our neighbours as well.

Over the last couple of weeks however, the editorial staff of the Barrhead Leader has received notice of several fires in the area, and have learned that the majority of these have been the results of controlled burn situations that got out of hand quickly.

In a few cases however, piles of debris that were burned in previous years had re-ignited as well.

With the exception of the latter, which can be blamed on the wind, some of these recent incidents have occurred while the town and the county have been under fire bans, so we felt it might be worthwhile to remind our readers there is a ban currently in effect at this time.

While a ban is in effect, no one may light a fire or discharge any fireworks, and all outstanding fire permits are suspended.

When the ban is lifted however, notice will be posted to Town of Barrhead and the County of Barrhead’s websites, as well as their social media feeds.

The Town’s website (www.barrhead.ca) and the County’s website (www.countybarrhead.ab.ca) both state that the current fire ban went into effect at noon on May 2, and residents are encouraged to check these pages often for updates or other relevant information.

While Barrhead reacquaints itself with warmer temperatures and conditions, especially during dry periods like now, it is important to respect our two municipalities’ decisions and to not conduct any burning whatsoever.

Imagine for a minute what would happen to our community if something like Mayerthorpe or Fort McMurray occurred here.

Nobody ever expects they will be victims in these types of disasters, especially when they are avoidable.

Please respect the fire bans that are put in place to protect our homes, our families and our community.

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