Opal fire

[shmole]

"PROBABLY"....??????? Who is running exhaust without Spark Arrestors?

From Edmonton Sun May 20, 2010

OPAL, Alta. — An investigation has determined that an all-terrain vehicle probably caused a brush fire that destroyed a home north of Edmonton and caused an evacuation order.

A county official says he’s disappointed that people ignored dry weather conditions and caused a wildfire that resulted in the loss of a family’s home.

Thorhild Reeve Charles Newell points out the fire cost millions of dollars to control and put out.

He adds the area is still dry despite some rain, and people need to take precautions on the long weekend.

The blaze near Opal, about 60 kilometres north of Edmonton, is being held for a second day.

A high-altitude scan is planned to see where the flames are still active.

 

[fat tire]

"PROBABLY"....??????? Who is running exhaust without Spark Arrestors?

From Edmonton Sun May 20, 2010

OPAL, Alta. — An investigation has determined that an all-terrain vehicle probably caused a brush fire that destroyed a home north of Edmonton and caused an evacuation order.

A county official says he’s disappointed that people ignored dry weather conditions and caused a wildfire that resulted in the loss of a family’s home.

Thorhild Reeve Charles Newell points out the fire cost millions of dollars to control and put out.

He adds the area is still dry despite some rain, and people need to take precautions on the long weekend.

The blaze near Opal, about 60 kilometres north of Edmonton, is being held for a second day.

A high-altitude scan is planned to see where the flames are still active.

It doesn't take much in the conditions.........but Probably means just that......untill we hear a definately....must have been..... then I call BS on that one.....but yeah I know exactly what your thinking.........not looking good for any of us who ride OHV of any sort.Let's hope we don't hear that too much more this year........or the insurance companies will hit us all with an exorbant nonexisting tax to our policys.

 

[Murminator]

Yeah and I heard the were probably highmarking

 

[crazy_wheeler]

What about the probable cause of a smoker who threw a butt out the window???

 

[shan]

the latest rumour i heard was that a guy was burning garbage and it got away from him. live out here and you hear so many different stories, it is just easier to blame the atvs because of the big bruderheim fire last year.

 

[catmando]

Ya I heard an ATV caused those three houses in Sylvan Lake to go up in flames too............Must have been drivin right down the pavement!
Oh ya that grainery that went up by wasetna!
Hell Ya ,had to be an ATV!
What a Load of Crap!
catmando!

 

[jncmcat]

In the Westlock news for almost the entire spring, the county fire chief has been going on about atvs and how they are the cause of most wildfires. I'm tired of hearing this, every rider needs to pay closer attention to their atvs for a while and make sure we don't fuel their rants about us. The funniest thing about the fire chief was that he was in a new Kubota atv that was purchased for firefighting, hope he has his spark arrestor installed! Nobody wants to start a fire, so lets flip are machines over after we ride them and pressure wash all the s**t off of them! Ride safe, ride smart, GET DIRTY!!

 

[RETODD]

EDMONTON — A 3,000-hectare wildfire that has been burning near the hamlet of Opal for more than a week was likely caused by an all-terrain vehicle travelling through the area on May 12, 2010, officials in Thorhild County say.

"I'm very disappointed that people ignored the dry weather conditions and caused a major wildfire that resulted in the loss of a family's home and other properties, forced many people to evacuate, and cost millions of dollars to control and extinguish," Reeve Charles Newell said in a news release.

"Even though there has been some light rain showers in the past day, our region is still very dry."

Off -road vehicles such as ATVs are not a common cause of wildfires in the province.

"Generally speaking, off -highway vehicles account for slightly more than one per cent of all human-caused fires in Alberta," said Rob Harris, a wildfire expert with Sustainable Resource Development.

About half of Alberta's wildfires are started by people, with the other half caused by lightning strikes, Harris said.

The counties of Thorhild and Westlock introduced fire bans on May 13, with Sturgeon County following suit a day later. Only the ban in Westlock County specifically advises residents to exercise caution when using ATVs because of the potential for their exhausts to start fires in dry conditions.

One rural home and several farm outbuildings were destroyed by the wildfire, which is currently being held, which means the perimeter is secure and hasn't breached the guard. A notice to evacuate homes in Westlock County has been lifted.

More than 200 firefighters continue to battle the fire, moving inward and tackling hot spots. Sustainable Resource Development provided five fire crews Thursday and will provide another five today, making for an additional 80 firefighters to battle the blaze by week's end.

Recent wet weather and light winds have helped firefighters gain the upper hand on the fire, but residents in the area are being asked to stay on notice in case conditions change.

Meanwhile, the provincial government is urging Albertans to take extra care with fire in advance of the May long weekend.

Despite cooler temperatures and widespread rain, it only takes a few days of hot, dry weather to elevate the fire hazard to extreme levels, the government said in a news release.

Since the beginning of April, fire crews have responded to 552 wildfires in Alberta's forest protection area, compared to an average of 439 in the previous five years during the same period, according to SRD spokesman Duncan MacDonnell.

Currently there are 15 wildfires burning in the forest protection area. All have been contained.

mibraham@thejournal.canwest.com

Read more: ATV pegged as cause of Opal wildfire

 

[shan]

wish i never threw out the community paper.... the fire started by the gravel pit out there.... even they said they don't know how it started, and they didn't hear no ATVs out there.

 

[RETODD]

wish i never threw out the community paper.... the fire started by the gravel pit out there.... even they said they don't know how it started, and they didn't hear no ATVs out there.

Too bad the truth never seems to get reported...avys...fires...we are always the bad people...scapegoats...whatever

 

[magnet]

how can they say for sure it was a atv. i heard this am on the news that they said it was from a clump of mud off the exhaust that caused the foire. i wonder what the difference between the starter clump of mud/grass and every other clump of burnt mud and grass out there right now?

 

[TylerG]

Too bad the truth never seems to get reported...avys...fires...we are always the bad people...scapegoats...whatever

the worst people to affect our sports is the media, always has been, always will be...... Just make sure we keep our spark arrestors in and functional, clean the crap off the exhausts, and play safe guys.

 

[Skegmeister]

Being the Devil's Advocate; But I would like to watch someone try to make a fire with stuff that slides off of my quad...
Yeah keep the skeg off the bikes, good idea.
Better idea is to make sure your fires are out and to stop throwing cigarette butts on the ground.
You know who you are...

 

[Murminator]

What about the probable cause of a smoker who threw a butt out the window???

What smokers actually do that???? there is no way the possibilty that could ever happen it would have to be the 1% chance an atv starting the fire Not a smoker throwing out a butt, not and atv'er throwing out a butt, not a horsebackrider throwing out a butt, not a hiker throwing out a butt, not a farmer throwing out a butt.......
I come from small town sask where every old farmers answer to everthing they didn't want........BURN IT !!!!!!

 

[tmix]

yeah, my wifes uncle is the same way just burn it, if it's no good!!!

 

[shan]

the first rumour on the fire was that ppl had seen a helicoptor land but not leave so they thought it had crashed.
second rumour it started at the gravel pit business out there.
third rumour it was caused by a smoker.
fourth rumour it was started by some ppl on atvs that didn't put out their fire after cooking hotdogs.
fifth and final rumour... started by a man burning garbage on his property and it got away from him.

so which one to believe....

 

[Murminator]

the first rumour on the fire was that ppl had seen a helicoptor land but not leave so they thought it had crashed.
second rumour it started at the gravel pit business out there.
third rumour it was caused by a smoker.
fourth rumour it was started by some ppl on atvs that didn't put out their fire after cooking hotdogs.
fifth and final rumour... started by a man burning garbage on his property and it got away from him.

so which one to believe....

Hmmm I did hear the rumour they that thought an aircraft had crashed.....but out of all of them what did the media run with???

 

[shan]

Hmmm I did hear the rumour they that thought an aircraft had crashed.....but out of all of them what did the media run with???

like i had said in previous post... easier to blame atv, because of the big fire out in bruderheim last year. what i find funny is that they say the quadders were cooking hotdogs. how would they know that?????