Grass fire ignited by discarded cigarette

BEISEKER- RCMP are calling on all smokers to keep their cigarette butts to themselves after yet another grass fire was ignited by a carelessly discarded cigarette.

On Sunday afternoon, Beiseker RCMP responded to a 911 call reporting a grass fire in the ditch along Highway 9, north of Keoma.

Fire fighters from Beiseker, Crossfield, Irricana and Rockyview County scrambled to gain control of the fire in severely windy and dry conditions.

The fire spread rapidly and was blown eastward by strong winds.

Nearby farmers and residents of the Tscheder Hutterite Colony were able to use farm equipment and create fire barriers which prevented the fire from reaching any nearby farmyards and residences.

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After the fire was extinguished, RCMP and Fire investigators were able to locate the source of the fire, a cigarette butt along the shoulder of Highway 9.

The past few months have been exceptionally dry and as a result there have been a number of forest fires and grass fires in southern Alberta.“We’ve lost farms, houses, pets, livestock and infrastructure to fires already; and, the greatest loss of all, a volunteer firefighter from Cypress County was killed while fighting a fire this fall”,  says Corporal Curtis Peters, Media Relations Officer for Southern Alberta. “This is now the second fire that we know was caused by a cigarette butt. Both of these were completely preventable. We need people to get the message and STOP tossing their butts out of vehicles.”

If members of the public see someone throwing a cigarette butt out of a vehicle, they should contact their local police and not engage in a confrontation with the person.

(Gary McKinnon)