Canada underway to control forest fire in Banff.
On Wednesday afternoon, a prescribed burn near Banff, Alberta crossed over from its intended area to the east side of Banff Avenue, resulting in an evacuation of people and animals. Parks Canada posted on Twitter that the fire in Banff National Park is currently “Out of Control” and that they are working with the Town of Banff and the RCMP to manage the rapidly evolving situation.
While the Trans Canada Highway is open, delays are expected due to smoke, and Parks Canada has advised people to avoid the area. Although no official evacuation orders are in place, the Rocky Mountain Resort has been evacuated as a precautionary measure, and the Banff Light Horse Association has relocated their horses.
Parks Canada issued an alert at approximately 5 p.m. stating that the prescribed burn had spread from Compound Meadow to the east side of Banff Ave in the area of Mountainview Cemetery and the horse corrals.
The RCMP informed CBC News that they were called to the Light Horse Association grounds near Mountain View Cemetery to help evacuate the area.
“The fire has travelled beyond the planned burn area with smoke and flames visible from Banff Avenue and the Trans Canada Highway,” Kira Tryon, a spokesperson for Parks Canada, said in a statement.
“There is no immediate threat to the Town of Banff.”
“There’s nothing really [that’s] been like this happen this close to town, this close to the highway,” Pullan said. “It makes me feel a little embarrassed for the Parks people who decided to have controlled burns on a hot, windy day.”
Moving forward, Pullan said he wants to know how Parks Canada will make sure this doesn’t happen again.
On Wednesday, a prescribed burn was initiated to cover 300 hectares on both sides of the Trans Canada Highway. Parks Canada had previously burned 125 hectares within the Compound Meadows prescribed fire unit during the previous spring.
As stated on the Parks Canada website, the prescribed fire’s purpose is to reduce the Town of Banff’s wildfire risk by eliminating flammable vegetation.
