A campfire likely caused the fiery vortex that left acres of Big Lake scorched and a firefighter singed Thursday. About 13 firefighters and four fire trucks responded to a two-alarm fire at Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park Thursday afternoon. Local environmentalist Stuart Loomis said he first noticed the towering brown plume from the fire just before 3 p.m. while he was in downtown St. Albert and headed over to check it out. By the time he arrived at the area of the Big Lake Environment Support Society’s platform about 3:40 p.m., fire crews were already on scene. The fire appeared to have started somewhere south of the BLESS webcam on the opposite side of the Sturgeon from the platform west of Ray Gibbon Dr., Loomis said. “The flames were high enough to reach the power lines here,” he said, pointing to the lowest lines on the FortisAlberta transmission towers that stretch over the Sturgeon. “You could feel the heat of the fire on the BLESS platform.” Vincent Pashko, a nine-year veteran with the St. Albert fire department, said the fire didn’t look that bad at first, but they soon determined that it had spread to the edge of Big Lake and was headed towards Ray Gibbon Dr. He and his comrades used firefighting backpacks and a buggy to battle the blaze, which kept flaring up because of the strong winds. Just when crews appeared to have the fire beat, Loomis said he saw a patch of it flare up on the peninsula opposite the BLESS platform. “The flames jumped to 18 or 20 feet high,” he said, all in just a few minutes. Moments later, a column of flame, smoke and ash twisted to form a fire tornado that swooped towards Pashko. “Before I knew it, I heard the guys screaming at me, ‘Watch out!’” Pashko said. “I turned around and I saw this big wall of hot ash coming towards me.” Paschko turned away and could feel the heat burning the back of his ears and neck. “Holy smokes,” he recalled thinking, “this is more serious than I thought.” Paschko ran into the Sturgeon and dunked his head underwater for protection. “I was booting it! I could have won the Olympics this year, I think!” While this was definitely a close call, Paschko said at the time he was more worried about his fellow firefighters, as he wasn’t sure if they had been caught up in the blaze. When he heard them calling him, he shouted back, “I’m OK, I’m OK,” and returned to shore. The vortex itself, which rose up several hundred feet, swirled out over the water and petered out about halfway across the river, Loomis said. “If it had stayed on a little longer and carried the embers, it could have started a fire on the other side,” Loomis said – a place where he and many other witnesses were standing. Loomis suspected that the fire vortex happened when the fire hit a patch of bulrushes, which are covered with light, fluffy, and extremely flammable seeds at this time of year and very common where the vortex appeared. The burst of heat, combined with convection currents and the wind, would have caused the fast-moving, rotating column seen here. “It’s one of the most spectacular environmental events I’ve seen in the last 20 years.” Crews had the fire extinguished after about three hours, said St. Albert fire investigator Les David Mroz. It scorched about 20 acres and damaged several wooden power poles. Pashko said he was taken to the Sturgeon Community Hospital after he had calmed down a bit where he was treated for smoke inhalation. He was back at work Friday with a bit of blistering around his ears, face, and the back of his neck. “I lucked out.” Witnesses said that this fire might have been caused by a group of people lighting a barbeque or campfire in the region, Mroz said. Humans are the second-most common cause of wildfires after lightning, he noted. Alberta Justice conservation officer Rob Spelliscy said fires are banned in Lois Hole Park, and that anyone who sets one there can be fined $287. This particular fire happened just outside the park, he added, which means City of St. Albert laws apply. Under those laws, anyone who lights a fire in an area where it may spread can be fined up to $10,000. Firefighters are paid to face these risks, but this fire killed at least one beaver and displaced several moose, Pashko said. “Don’t have campfires in dry areas or where it’s not in an designated area,” he said, and soak the ashes thoroughly when you’re done – it takes very little heat to start a fire under these dry conditions.
