whats happenng near bruderheim ??

[Puba]

How do they know what really started the fire? It could just be from a cig butt from a car window. Why blame the quadders? Are they blaming the machine or the people who ride them and party by a fire that is left unnattended. Our fire at Med lake on Sunday had 5 pails of water thrown on it to make sure it was out. Most people do not do this. Ran into this same thing one time in Grave Flats area. Campers pack up, leave and there is a big fire in their pit which we put out. Idiots.

Probably at this point no one knows what started the fire but sure as heck everyone will be painted with the same brush regardless of the fact. I am not happy about it, this could potentially shut down a very nice area of riding for everyone that is easily accessible to the city and nice for day rides with the family. The last time I was there the place was a mess, garbage and booze empties all over the place we cleaned up as much as we could in 2 hours taking out a total of 5 garbage bag when we left and there was still another day of cleaning left to do.

It's not a question of who is responsible at this point it's a question of what is going to be played out in the media and political arena to possibly close the area down.

 

[Summiteer]

Probably at this point no one knows what started the fire but sure as heck everyone will be painted with the same brush regardless of the fact. I am not happy about it, this could potentially shut down a very nice area of riding for everyone that is easily accessible to the city and nice for day rides with the family. The last time I was there the place was a mess, garbage and booze empties all over the place we cleaned up as much as we could in 2 hours taking out a total of 5 garbage bag when we left and there was still another day of cleaning left to do.

It's not a question of who is responsible at this point it's a question of what is going to be played out in the media and political arena to possibly close the area down.

Too true, perception, not fact carries the day. Look at the flu panic right now.

 

[teamgreen]

Just talked to a friend who was fighting the fire. Apparently several houses lost and all the Natural Area is gone. I didnt believe Global news and Strathcona Emerg Services when they said it was under control in 4 hours. Rumor is that the province is coming in to deal with the situation, my guess is with water bombers and D6's.

I guess that means all the garbage is probably gone now

 

[rknight111]

Global news has a good story on the fires. One lady was saying theres so many ATV's and campers that hang in there and that area has to be closed.

 

[pipes]

I wonder about these areas sometimes though.....I'm sure if access is easy, the bush partiers will use these areas too. Unless specifically identified as an ATV or ATV'ers fire, how do they know it wasn't some other reckless group? Spontaneously pointing a finger at a specific group is wrong, as is using these sorts of events for fulfilling personal agendas.

Dip shits not putting out their camp fires ot just tossing out cigarette buts, These are the reasons area get closed to repectable people like you and me. Keep your spark arrestors in and keep the skeg off the engine and exhaust folks. Looks like we are in for a fire storm this spring. Fire few miles south east of Bonnyville yesterday one out side of Bonnyville last night. One around Ardmore the day before.

 

[mallard d69]

Global news has a good story on the fires. One lady was saying theres so many ATV's and campers that hang in there and that area has to be closed.

you guys can hate me if you want but i'd love to meet that dana anderson and "educate" her.
its not that the site needs to be closed down because of quaders the site just needs to be policed better. there's loads of people that go there and don't care about the area. im sure police would have a field day just handing out littering fines let alone no licence/registration fines and we cant forget the public entoxication.
there are definatly people there that aren't quadding. 2 weeks ago there was a family there with their trailer(no bikes) big ol fire. we went back last week big mess and it happens all the time.

just my two cents i hope we dont lose this wonderfull site

 

[magnet]

Unfortunatly all everybody see's/remembers from seeing quaders/sledders, is the dip sh sticks that are burning dognuts in the middle of gravel roads, doing50mph catwalks in heavily populated campgrounds, running extremely loud machines at all hrs of the night/morning ten feet from the guys window, drinking and driving their machines e.tc. Then we all get the same color put on us. these guys that set this image on us are the ones who need to be dealt with.

 

[Bogger]

I was out on the farm last night until midnight. There are 2 working water bomber planes, one helicopter, and several dozers trying to set up fire breaks. Local residents are cultivating field areas to bury the topdress. The inlaws have not been "forced out" at this point however they are in the manditory evac area, it was tricky to get in there. Being the cowboy he is the old guy won't leave until they put him in a cruiser. The non replaceables are packed up, all the tack is loaded and the horses are set up in an area where we can move them field to field if evacuation is required.
The fire is 3 sided around the farm and lots of smoke durring daylight but when the sun went down was when you realize the extent of it....glowing orange everywhere.
The natural area is toast....burnt toast, the area will not be accessible for quite some time as they will be dealing with hotspots for weeks, and I hope that when/if they do re-open it to recreational users they patrol and enforce bylaws on ALL Users

For those who are still in the "who done it" mode that makes no difference, was it a quadder? a hiker? camper? dunno....from what I've been told it was not a cigarett from a CAR because it started in an isolated area. fact of the matter is it happened, local residents have been expecting it to happen, and now they are being forced out of and face the possibility of losing their homes....the political issue will go on for ever, now is not the time for politics. For riders who frequent the area one suggestion I have is to maybe (after the dust settles) volunteer as a group to help with clean-up, reconstruction ect....

Thanks for all the well wishes and offers of help, if it becomes necessary I make some of you up on your offers...for now we are in wait and see mode.

I've attached some pics I took at the farm last night.

Bogger

 

[mudboy]

keep us posted.. feel free to pm if you need some help

 

[adrian450]

my buddies and i can help clean up for sure or whatever anyone needs out there just let me know

 

[Puba]

Maybe a good idea once the dust settles and the hot spots are out, as a group of snow and mud RESPONSIBLE atv'ers we do some positive image volunteer work around the recreation area for the community and residents?

Just and thought / suggestion.... for what it's worth.

 

[Bogger]

Maybe a good idea once the dust settles and the hot spots are out, as a group of snow and mud RESPONSIBLE atv'ers we do some positive image volunteer work around the recreation area for the community and residents?

Just and thought / suggestion.... for what it's worth.

My brain was already headed in that direction...I will find out when it is safe and what services a volunteer group could provide to the county and local residents

 

[MudPro]

I agree about the litter, the nominds etc.
I'm not pickin a side , but our group seen the fire and called it in ,we just saw some smoke and thought it was someone makin a fire, we headed towards it when a tree went up in flames, and we saw nobody even near it, but you could be right it could have been a cig. butt or even a bottle that acted like a magnifing glass, you would have had to walk into that particular spot and start it then run out and ride away with noone seeing you.
The farmers tryin to blame quaders , bikers etc.
Like I said we saw noone there, I think nature had the upper hand that day.
Just my two cents.

 

[magnet]

This sounds like it is going to maybe get out of hand for atvers aout there now. Just heard on the drive in this morning that along with the complete fire ban in that area there is also a complete atv use ban in the area. Not sounding good for responsible riders who want to use the area.

 

[Airborne]

well i dont know anything about the second fire but i know a little about the first. my buddies and i were all sitting by our cars at the sand pit straight north or bruderheim taking a break. we looked up and noticed the smoke, just a little wisp. then it suddenly went black and started growing incredibly fast. we decided to go see what was going on so we hopped on our machines and raced into the trails, we came to a point where we had a good vantage point of the fire. the wind was blowing north so i think we were probably looking at where the fire roughly started. I remember the trail and i dont remember seeing any camp fires in that area. So i can only think of the previously suggested causes: broken glass cigarette butts or sparks. as we pulled up we saw a group of 8 riders racing from the area but im pretty sure they were just trying to GTFOut of there. Everyone around us all had the same idea though. pack up and get out before the road get blocked by fire trucks.
It really is too bad that this happened. It was such a fun place to ride and it is too bad that a group of careless people continually ruin things for the rest of us. I run a clean(ish) machine, with stock exhaust and a clean spark arrestor. its not making things less fun... i dont see why people feel the need to remove that arrestor.
And now not only do we not have somewhere to ride but people are losing their homes. Even if the homes survive the smoke damage will still cause problems. I agree with those of you that say we should be helping out, not for creating a positive image, but because they need our help, and its the right thing to do.

 

[Bogger]

I agree....the reson for wanting to help is compassion....A better image is just a possible side effect. As of now all my familys homes are safe and they continue to help fend off the fires against those in jeaprody...Nice to see ASR manning up in the area...too bad they couldent have put that plan in place on Monday morning.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[polcat]

looks like its under control now they've had hwy 830 opened since yesterday pretty smoky goin in to work today but had cleared up when I headed home.lot of damage near the staging area by the hwy.fire trucks are still puttin out hot spots.

 

[mallard d69]

thanks for the update

 

[H2SNOW]

what about that fire near Valleyview drove thru on Wednesday didn't look very good

 

[Bogger]

Pretty sure it's no one on here but a bunch of riders returned to Bruderhiem today. There are still hot spots and 80 fire fighters working on them yet 50+ bikes returned today. I very much feel caught in the middle here with it being family and all, I do understand their frustration. Hopefully we will be able to use this area once again...BUT IT IS TOO SOON TO GO BACK... If you know any of the riders out there today give them a slap upside the head FROM BOGGER and tell them that all they are accomlishing is to pour iodine over an open wound...there are many other places to ride, can we please find alternates until we get official word that we can go back...for the sake of the sport in the area......