As of May 21, the fire bans in the Rural Municipalities of Montrose, Vanscoy and Corman Park have been lifted.
Delisle and District Fire Department Chief Mike Given said that the RM of Vanscoy and RM of Montrose have both recently received a significant amount of moisture.
“Just depending on where you were at, anywhere from three quarters of an inch in some areas minimum, up to around two inches,” Given said. “Things are greening up very quickly, so with that in mind we’re going to lift the fire bans in both those RMs.”
The fire risk in the RM of Corman Park has lessened significantly because of the recent moisture received, and that’s why the fire ban has been lifted.
Even though the fire bans have been lifted, it is still important to exercise caution and call in controlled burns where required.
“Make sure that if you are going to have a (controlled) burn, you clean the ground around it really good, rake it up, no dry leaves or dead grass, and wet in down if you have your hose handy and never leave it unattended,” Given said.
Traditionally another fire ban will implemented in the RM of Vanscoy and the RM of Montrose in the fall, unless those areas receive a quite a bite of moisture.
“We didn’t have one last year in September. We were getting a bunch of moisture and there seemed to be not a big reason to have it,” Given said. “We saw very little action in grass fires last year in September, so we didn’t have one. Hopefully we don’t have to have one this year in September.”