Fire crews have been busy near some southern Alberta communities, dealing with a number of wildfires that have broken out, fuelled by the warm and dry conditions in the province.
Firefighters were called out to two wildfires near Cochrane on Tuesday night. They say high winds made it difficult to get them both under control.
Crews had to truck water out into the fields where the fires broke out, but they did manage to put them both out.
Investigators are still at the scene of both fires, trying to determine what caused them.
Wendy Hawes says her husband spotted a lot of smoke coming over the hill where they lived. She says she was told to leave their house because the flames were getting close.
"There was a lot of smoke in the house. I've already been through a fire like this when we lived in Salmon Arm. We saved our house but our neighbours were burn out."
Hawes says she was glad to see the neighbours all pitch in to put out the fire on their property on Tuesday night. "I just want to thank all my neighbours. I met a lot of neighbours that I didn't even know before, for coming and helping out."
Earlier on Tuesday, a large grassfire broke out near Blackie, Alberta, a small community just east of High River.
The fire, which was also spread by strong gusts of wind, burned through hectares of farmland, jumping over several roads.
The M.D. of Foothills declared a local state of emergency because of the fire, so they could access more resources to help them fight it.
Fire departments from five communities responded to the fire, and they even got help from local residents, the same residents who were told to be ready to flee the area if the fire became too dangerous.
Jim Smith, fire chief the M.D. of Foothills says once the wind died down, it wasn’t long before crews managed to get an upper hand on the fire. “We contained it just to the areas just inside these sections of land and contained it just in case the wind picked up again.”
One firefighter was injured while fighting the blaze and received treatment at the High River Hospital and is reported to be in good condition.
Crews say the fire began near a home in the community, and then spread from there.
Several buildings were damaged by smoke from the grassfire.
Officials say that high winds are expected in southern Alberta again on Wednesday, but there is also a chance of rain.