Fire ban in effect for Lethbridge’s river valley [Video]

LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. –

Despite the month of May seeing nearly 100 millimetres of rain, the City of Lethbridge has enacted a fire ban for the city’s river valley.

“The winds we received on Tuesday, it just puts us in like a hair dryer,” explained Troy Hicks, chief fire marshal with Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services (LFES).

“It dries out the ground very much. Every day we check the government’s website on levels and the ratings down in the river bottom and here in the city of Lethbridge, and as of yesterday our numbers were quite extreme.”

The forecasted high temperatures, low humidity and winds are key factors for the river valley fire ban.

The ban, which only includes the river bottom, has been placed on all open fires.

Hicks says a single spark could lead to an out-of-control grassfire in a matter of minutes.

“You could get a grassfire burning very extreme,” he …