Fire near Magrath’s Galt Canal Trail Historic Site

By Tim Kalinowski on March 23, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com

Magrath Fire Department responded to a potentially dangerous fire in the area of Magrath’s Galt Canal Trail Historic Site on Saturday afternoon.
Due to windy conditions, and because of difficulties accessing the area, the fire spread out over 40 acres before firefighters, with the assistance of the RCMP and local Hutterite colonies, were able to bring it to heel, confirmed Magrath Fire Chief Cliff Blackwell.
“The wind blew a fair bit and moved it pretty rapidly,” he stated. “Our biggest challenge actually was getting access down into that area, and we are working with our council and our board right now to mitigate future issues like that. Getting the vehicles down into the park was our challenge, but once we got them down there normally you like to flank a fire– but in this case, because of the limited access, we almost had to take it head-on.”
The fire also had plenty of fuel to work with, said Blackwell.
“The grass there has never been cut or taken care of,” he confirmed. “It has been wild prairie and creek bottoms for as long as I have been here. And so it was cured and dried, and there was good fuel for the fire.”
Thankfully, stated Blackwell, he had a well-trained crew and, in this case, great assistance from neighbours.
“We had our Hutterite colonies come in and carry water for us, and assist us; so we are grateful for all that,” he said.
Blackwell confirmed the fire was likely human-caused in this instance, but the investigation is still ongoing.
“It is really dry right now, and there are fire bans on in different places,” he said. “We just encourage our public to be cautious in what they are doing.”

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