By Nigel Maxwell

Fort McMurray wildfire sparks call for action in P.A.

May 23, 2016 | 8:17 AM

Describing the Fort McMurray wildfire as a “wake-up call,” Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne wants to make sure a similar disaster does not happen closer to home.

A special committee is being assembled to look at the potential risks associated with Nisbet Forest.

“And we all know there’s lots of spruce bug, we know there’s lots of dead fall, we know there’s lots of trees that have died because of water and so it’s just a tinder box waiting to go up,” Dionne said.

Prince Albert residents might recall a fire in May, 2010, which started at a private residence north of the city.  Within a half hour, the fire spread to 15 hectares in size and eventually grew to the size of Saskatoon’s downtown.

As recently as Friday, the fire department responded to a grass fire at Little Red Park on the old winter festival grounds.  The fire was contained to a size of one acre.

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“If you go on to the top part of the park, it’s just over grown with dead grass and if we get a dry-spell, that could just take off,” Dionne said.

Prince Albert Fire Department chief Jason Everitt has been appointed to get the ball rolling on the special committee.

Everitt said he was not surprised by the Mayor’s appointment and will get to work soon.

“You know we’re gonna pull people together from a provincial perspective as well as local and regional and when it comes down to it, the local people have a role to play.”

Everitt said the Nisbet Forest has been on his radar for quite some time, adding it was one of the drivers for the Prince Albert Alert System.

“We wanted a way to connect with people in that urban interface, the country residemtial area in the event that something gets going.”

Mayor Dionne plans to meet with Everitt this week to discuss the next step in the committee’s formation.

Everitt said there will be challenges getting so many jurisdictions to figure out one consolidated solution.

In Sept, 2011, the Wildlife Management Branch of the Ministry of Environment released the results of a study into the Nisbet Fire.

nmaxwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell