The actions of some visitors to a provincially-owned area west of Calgary has the residents of neighbouring properties concerned for their well-being and their homes.
The Ghost River Wilderness Area attracts hunters, target shooters. campers and ATV riders on a regular basis. Recently, a number of explosions have occurred on the provincial land and volunteer fire crews have had to extinguish grass fires. Erik Butters, a volunteer firefighter, says it’s believed three fires in early April were sparked by exploding targets.
“They shoot the target. If they hit it, it blows up,” explains Butters. “Every once in a while it blows up with enough heat to start a fire and then we get called.”
Butters says the culprits are nowhere to be found. “By the time the fire call gets in and we get there, they’re long gone”
Firing a weapon on provincial land is permitted but neighbours believe the use of explosive targets during the current dry conditions is irresponsible and places lives at risk.
“Right now, because conditions are tinder dry out here in the Ghost, we really want people mindful of fire,” said Sharon MacDonald, who has lived in the region for nearly seven years. “Some of these exploding targets, that people are creating or bringing in, have posed very real danger creating several fires.”
MacDonald says stray bullets and grass fires jeopardize the lives of both visitors and residents.
“There’s a school here where youth attend school on a regular basis and we also have people working on the land - foresters, biologists – and then we have hikers, campers, tourists, quadders, et cetera.”
Both Butters and MacDonald believe an increase in enforcement and education could help alleviate the issue. In her seven years in the Ghost, MacDonald says she’s never encountered an enforcement officer.
“Most Albertans want to do the right thing but, unless we have that enforcement to help educate us, queue us, make us aware of just how severe the fire damage is and what type of responsible behaviour is needed from us, we don’t always know what to do.”
Butters says it's time for the province to take action.
“It’s a disgrace what they’re allowing to happen out there. There’s just garbage everywhere, there’s no washroom or latrine facility, there’s nothing like that. It’s just the Wild West.”
“The province has proven for several years to be more interested in recreational opportunity than they are in stewardship of the land under their jurisdiction.”
Forestry Alberta says the office of the fire commissioner is reviewing the use of exploding targets in our province to see if any rules and restrictions are needed.
With files from CTV's Alesia Fieldberg
