Cigarette suspected of sparking at least one of two southwest Calgary grass fires
The fire department says a grass fire that came close to some homes in southwest Calgary on Friday afternoon was likely sparked by a cigarette butt.
The fire began near 69th Street and 14th Avenue S.W. just after 4 p.m.
Winds spread the blaze quickly.
The fire spread into the Strathcona Ravine and came within throwing distance of a few homes.
Firefighters set up at various places around the ravine to protect homes.
Homeowners helped fire crews ward off the flames with garden hoses.
The fire was brought under control.
No one was hurt.
There was no damage to structures.
Firefighters remained on scene into Friday night, putting out hot spots in the brush.
The fire department warns that with these extremely dry conditions, cigarette butts must not be thrown on the ground.
And there was another fire in Fish Creek Provincial Park on Friday night.
It broke out near the Votier's Flats parking lot at the far southern end of Elbow Drive around 8:20 p.m.
The fire generated small flames in some spots and quite a bit of smoke.
Firefighters went into the bush and attacked the flames with foam.
No injuries are reported and there's no word on the cause.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Is there a cost to convenience? Canada approves new cancer immunotherapy treatment
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Canada's new dental program offering hope of free care to millions but many dentists aren't signed up
A new Canadian dental care program is offering the hope of free care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up for the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done the same.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
King Charles III returns to public duties with a trip to a cancer charity
King Charles III will return to public duties on Tuesday when he visits a cancer treatment charity, beginning his carefully managed comeback after the monarch’s own cancer diagnosis sidelined him for three months.
NDP says Ottawa's new grocery task force isn't living up to government promises
The federal government says the task force it created to monitor and investigate grocery retailers' practices has not conducted any probes and doesn't have a mandate to take enforcement action.
A group of Toronto tenants have been on a rent strike for a year and say there's no resolution in sight
Dozens of tenants in Toronto's Thorncliffe Park area have now been withholding their rent for one year, and it’s unclear when the dispute will end.
Archeologists search for remnants of Halifax's 250-year-old wall that surrounded the city
Archeologist Jonathan Fowler is using ground-penetrating radar to search for historic evidence of the massive wall that surrounded Halifax more than 250 years ago.
Kazakhstan arrests ex-interior minister in connection with unrest that left 238 dead
Authorities in Kazakhstan arrested a former interior minister on Tuesday, in connection with deadly police crackdown on unrest that gripped the country in 2022, Kazakh news media reported.