Fire restrictions remain in place despite easing of risk
By Medicine Hat News on September 29, 2020.
The risk of wildfire in regions surrounding Medicine Hat and Cypress County is easing, though local restrictions are still in place. A month-long fire ban remains in place throughout Cypress County and areas of Saskatchewan nearest to southeast Alberta, though the County of Forty Mile downgraded its alert level last week. Fire permits are still not being issued however, and authorities are stressing caution. A ban on open campfires Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park was lifted earlier this month, though two Alberta Parks facilities near the park – the Michelle and Bullshead reservoirs – are still subject to a ban. Cypress County moved to a fire ban on August 26, stating hot, dry weather and a buildup of grass made conditions dangerous. Lethbridge County and areas nearest the eastern slopes of the Rockies remain under fire ban. Most areas of southern Alberta have had some level of fire restrictions in place since mid-summer. In Saskatchewan, a near blanket fire ban in the southwest of the province is also receding. As of Sept. 25, bans remained in place in the R.M.’s of Maple Creek, Reno and Deer Forks, next the Alberta boundary, as well as White Valley (surrounding Shaunavon) and Gull Lake. 9-8
