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Firefighters hold back grass fire on the edge of Lethbridge

Oct 17, 2017 | 10:34 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Fierce winds sent flames racing up the coulees on the south side of Lethbridge Tuesday night (Oct. 17).

Lethbridge fire crews responded to the blaze around 6 p.m., as the fire started in the river valley, between the Lethbridge Country Club and Mountain View Cemetery. It was extinguished at approximately 10 p.m.

The scorched earth came right up to the pathway along Scenic Drive South and the border of the cemetery, where firefighters were finally able stop it, soaking the entire area.

“[Lethbridge firefighters] did a tremendous job, definitely having to hike the coulees,” said Warren Keith, platoon chief of D Platoon. “Driving the wildland trucks is difficult in this terrain, where we’re unsure when it gets dark of where we’re actually going. But the guys put a lot of effort into humping up and down the coulees with the brooms and the trucks.”

He explained that one wildland truck and an engine were the first units deployed to the area, and they quickly called in re-enforcements when they realized the scope of the fire.

“The challenges are always that – fighting fires in winds of 80-100 km/h – is the wind creates its own firestorm. The flames themselves can turn directions in a split second, so we have to monitor our position with regards to the fire. We had, obviously, the steeper terrain to deal with.”

As they fought back the flames, Keith noted that the country club and Lethbridge Radiology Associates were evacuated, with the Lethbridge Police Service going to homes in the area and putting residents on a fire watch and voluntary evacuation.

“You may want to put a note in, just thanking LPS for their assistance on traffic control,” Keith added. “They created a safe work zone for us to be able to drive our trucks in and move our personnel around.”

He noted that it is still too early to say what the cause of the fire was, but that investigators will get to work determining it on Wednesday (Oct. 18).

Fire crews will also remain on scene overnight to deal with any hot spots.