Officials in Wheatland County east of Calgary issued a full fire ban Wednesday, saying that dry and windy conditions have created an extreme risk of wildfires.
The ban means all outstanding burning permits are suspended until further notice, the county said in a release.
Rocky View County is also considering a Christmas fire ban as unseasonal warm weather and tinter-dry, windy conditions keep Alberta firefighters busy.
Last week, those conditions forced Rocky View County to put out a fire advisory, and on Monday a flare from Shell's Jumping Pound facility west of Calgary sparked a three-acre fire.
District fire chief Dax Huba says crews managed to get that fire under control quickly.
"But again we're fighting these real, real high winds and these dry conditions that we're seeing in December, so we had to work pretty fast," he said.
Christmas fire ban
Huba says they're considering upping the advisory to a fire ban over the holidays, but it's a different story in Calgary.
Despite the adverse weather conditions, the fire department says there is no imminent threat of fires within city limits.
Nonetheless, deputy chief Alan Ball says they are putting more bush-buggies on standby, just in case.
"They're the ones that can actually go out into the green space, and you know, provide intervention," he said.
