Red Deer Emergency Services responded to a patchy vegetation fire in a wooded area near residential buildings along Gaetz Avenue and 60 Street on Thursday afternoon.
The fire was in an area with trees and brush behind apartment buildings at 5100 60 Street in Riverside Meadows, and was moving north towards other residences. Several 911 calls alerted emergency services at about 4:30 p.m.
"There's quite a slope there and the fire was making it's way up the slope, producing quite a bit of smoke," said Evan Stewart, assistant deputy chief with Red Deer Emergency Services.
He said a second fire truck and a brush truck used to fight wildland fires were called to the scene. Red Deer County was also called in to provide mutual aid because additional city crews were out on other calls.
The fire, which burned patches within about one hectare of forest, was under control in about 20 minutes. Crews were on scene for a couple of hours to make sure all hotspots were extinguished.
"There was no damage to structures and crews had it under control quite quickly. It's likely a human caused fire, but undetermined at this point."
Stewart said the risk of fire in the city is currently very high due to dry fuels and warm windy conditions over the past few days, and Thursday's fire is a good example of the danger fire can pose.
"We're expecting some rain Sunday through Monday next week which will be a great help for sure. But we're going to remain in a high wildfire risk until we have significant green up of our natural areas in the city which probably won't take place until the end of May."
He encourages anyone who spots smoke or fire to immediately call 911, and stand somewhere safe to meet firefighters to provide them with information.
"We never want the public to put themselves in any position of risk during an emergency. The best thing you can do is make sure you're in a safe location."
Red Deer Emergency Services were also called out to a potential hazardous materials incident at the CP Rail Yard in the city around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Stewart said there was a large emergency response because of the unknown nature of the call. A minor leak of the petrochemical butylene from a rail car was addressed quickly by a hazardous materials response team from Canadian Pacific Rail and the city's hazardous materials response team.
Ball diamonds west of the rail yard were evacuated as a precaution when crews first arrived on the scene until more was known. There was no risk to the public, he added.
