As the weather warms up and conditions become dry, grass fires become a big threat to communities in the Foothills.

Foothills Fire Chief Jim Smith says the Foothills Fire Crews have responded to two grass fire calls lately, and it's only April.

"We've had two on Highway 2. We've had one out by Cayley, and one by Okotoks between Okotoks and Heritage Point. The one by Cayley was a transfer case that basically blew apart and the hot metal started the grass fire, the other one we believe was a cigarette start or a cigarette butt."

Smith says Alberta and BC have the highest numbers of cigarette ignited grass and wild fires.  That's why Smith says, they spend a lot of time in preparation and training.

"We've been doing a lot of training with our folks and spending a lot of time doing wild land firefighter training, grass fire training that sort of thing, as well as preparing our equipment." Smith adds "Right now we have three ATV's in our fleet so we want to make sure that they're ready to go and our Brush Trucks, they need to be ready to go as well."

Some safety tips that Smith advises people in the Foothills to follow is pay attention to the conditions and always call 9-1-1 if you see smoke.

"When burning on your property don't burn in winds greater than 12 km/hr. If you run into problems as quickly as possible phone 9-1-1 or if you do see smoke please phone 9-1-1 as quickly as possible to get our forces out there."

For backyard fire pits Smith says it's all about preparing just in case.

"Typically if we could get them to use spark arrestors and always have water on hand, like a hose line, or a garden hose that kind of thing, that way if anything does happen then you're prepared."

Questions and concerns about fire safety can be directed to the Foothills Fire Department by clicking this link.

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