The Foothills Fire Dept. had already been in the area fighting a fire near Quirk Creek Gas Plant when they received the call in the early morning hours of Dec. 1.
“We sent a tender first and they were immediately on the radio telling us to get over there,” said Foothills Fire Chief Rick Saulnier. “As soon as I pulled out of the gas plant I could see it coming over the hill.”
The fire is believed to have been sparked by downed power lines, based on the suspected origin and spread.
“The power company workers had found a tree that took the power line down to the ground, and it looks like that’s where it started from,” Saulnier said.
“Everything toward the property is burnt and everything on the other side of the line isn’t, and the wind was blowing this way, so that’s a pretty good estimate.”
The home on the property, Saulnier added, only had some singed shingles as the fire went largely around it.
At the scene were firefighters from every hall in the Foothills, starting with Heritage Pointe, Spruce Meadows, Priddis, Redwood Meadows. They were later relieved by crews from Blackie, Cayley and Longview halls.
When a semi had blown over on the highway near Aldersyde, Saulnier said they had to request a co-response from High River Fire Dept., as Foothills resources were tied up with the fires.
While the fire was largely extinguished by Wednesday afternoon, loose and dry ground conditions in wooded areas of the property required further work to stop reignitions.
The fire was able to travel under the surface in the root systems, Saulnier said.
Neighbour Dustin Finley said his family had to leave their home in the early hours of the morning.
“Around 12:30 last night, we got a knock on the door from a neighbour saying the hill was on fire,” Finley said. “I had to pack up the kids and animals in the middle of the night and get out of there.”
The danger was immediately visible as he drove past the burning acreage.
“I just came out, drove up the hill and the whole hill around the house up the road was on fire,” he said.
“About a half hour later the wind shifted and started pushing it our way, then with the crazy winds trees were falling all over the place.”
Finley then spent the day helping neighbours round up cattle that strayed when trees took down fencing.
Homeowner Richard Wyman, who recently purchased the property, was not there when the fire started, but was grateful for the work of the fire crews.
“We had just got a phone call from the previous owner, and they said there was a fire,” Wyman said.
“They (the firefighters) are doing a great job—we’re getting to meet some of the guys that are going to be our neighbours.”
He also credited significant efforts by the previous landowner to fire-proof the property by keeping the brush near the home well-manicured.
Wyman departed shortly after being interviewed to pick up pizza for the firefighters.
