Firefighters battle flare-ups at wildfire burning outside of Bruderheim

Hours after fire crews said a wildfire burning outside of Bruderheim, Alta. was being held, firefighters were battling flare-ups as the fire’s behaviour appeared to begin changing very quickly late Monday afternoon.

The Lamont County fires began on Saturday afternoon and RCMP said a few residences were evacuated as a result over the weekend. On Monday afternoon, firefighters could be seen stationed at different sides of one house, trying to fight the blaze from two different directions.

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Officials said crews were working to fight the flames in up to five different areas late Monday afternoon amid windy conditions.

According to Robyn Singleton, the chief administrative officer for Lamont County, most of the firefighters working in the area on Monday were paid, on-call firefighters. However, the quickly changing nature of the fire spurred Singleton to also pick up a hose, the first time he’s fought a fire in a couple of years.

“I normally wouldn’t be on the end of a hose attacking a fire,” he said. “We just didn’t have enough people and the fire was getting bigger, faster than we could respond.”

When asked to comment on the overall fire risk situation in the area, Singleton said it was “hard to really assess the overall situation when you’re on the hose.”

The blaze resulted in thick smoke and reduced visibility late Monday afternoon. Officials said three private water trucks were helping crews battle the fire.

Bruderheim is located about 60 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

– With files from Global News’ Kim Smith

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