📹 Quick Response To Grassfire Saves Rural Homes

A grassfire came perilously close to homes in a Cypress County rural subdivision Sunday afternoon.

Cypress County fire department volunteers sprang into action Sunday afternoon and pounced on an out-of-control grassfire which threatened several homes off Range Road 40, just east of Dunmore.

An initial response from area residents utilizing everything from a front-end loader to shovels was quickly bolstered by fire department volunteers who were already mustered in Dunmore for wildfire training, according to a source at the scene.

The fire broke out over the noon hour with an emergency alert being issued just before 1 pm.

The fire ran from behind an approximately dozen lot rural subdivision to a coulee located south from the homes and stretched east around three kilometres towards Deerview Meats.

Volunteers were able to get control of the fire by 2 pm but are expected to continue to be on scene for a number of hours yet.

Conditions are currently favourable for grassfires with dry fields, warm temperatures and gusty winds expected to continue into next week, though, there is a chance of showers Sunday evening.

The Cypress volunteers were also joined by a wildfire unit from Suffield along with HALO Air Ambulance.