Heat warning issued for Calgary and area as fire risk continues to rise - Action News
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Calgary

Heat warning issued for Calgary and area as fire risk continues to rise

It's been an unseasonablyhot and dry spring for Calgary and much of Alberta.Wildfires and grass fires are continuing to burn across the province.

Hot, dry conditions expected for the remainder of the week

Smoke rises from a park area near a river with the city skyline on the right.
A fire broke out in Pearce Estate Park west of downtown late Monday afternoon. A man has been charged with arson. (Kate Adach/CBC)

Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for Calgary and parts of southern Alberta.

Temperatures are expected to reach 29 C with overnight lows near 14 Cfor the next fivedays, the weather agency stated Tuesday on its website.

The hot weather is forecast to begin on Wednesday and moderate over the weekend.

Whilerain is expected, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canadasaid it may not be enough to offset the hot, dry conditions.

Smoke rising from a fire.
A grass fire near 5A Street and Ninth Avenue N.W. posed a danger to homes until it was contained late Monday afternoon. (Elizabeth Withey/CBC)

"What would be really great is instead of24 hours of fairly high precipitation, would be to get consistently some precipitation, day after day for weeks and weeks,"said ArmelCastellan, a warning preparedness meteorologist with the agency.

"It's not likely, it's not at all likely, in fact, but it is something that would be the most beneficial."

Conditions 'perfect' for fire spreading

After two significant grass fires in the city on Monday, the Calgary Fire Department again urged caution around open flames and disposing of smoking materials.

The fire atMcHugh Bluff in the city's northwest came within metres of homes that overlook downtown.

The second blaze, at Pearce Estate Park in Inglewood, eastof downtown, was believed to have been started deliberately,police said. One man has been charged with arson.

"That poplar fluff has been blowing around and accumulating in certain areas and some peoplemight not realize how flammable that is and how quickly the fire can spread," said Carol Henke, public information officer with the Calgary Fire Department.

Most fires, she said, are started by cigarette butts.

A fire advisory that was previously in place for the city due to ongoing wildfire risk across the province was lifted June 1.

With files from Dan McGarvey