3 Wolf Willow homes badly damaged by brush fire embers

Three houses were badlydamaged Sundaywhen embers from abrush fire in theWolf Willow neighbourhood of Edmonton landed on their roofs.

One house sustained a burned roof and attic. Flames gutted the top floorof the others.Two of thehomes were three blocks away from the fire.

Deputy FireChief Scott MacDonald said the embers were carried by high winds. Firefighters were able to put out small fires on the roofs of other homes before they caused interior damage

"A lot of the homes in this area have cedar shake roofs and they're dry," he said.

Police are looking into whether the fire wasdeliberately set.

Eyewitness Keegan Brookssaid the fire appeared to have started in a nearby playground.

"The wind came through, the flames exploded," he said. "Crews arrived 30 seconds after that."

The Wolf Willow blaze wasone of several brush fires keeping Edmonton firefighters busy Sunday. Another fire was reported around 6:20 p.m. in the Lessardarea, near 53rd Avenue and 176th Street.

Crews were also called tofires east of 34th Street, just north of Roper Road and at the Edmonton Golf and Country Club.

An earlier fire at Buena Vista Park in the river valley tookfirefighters an hour to get under control.

District Fire Chief Len Mushtuk reminded people that a province-wide fire ban was put in place for a reason.

"Can't get much dryer than it is right now, honestly, we'd sure like to see some rain," he said."Once we get a little bit of rain we'll be able to return to summer activities but for the time being please be very careful."

The ban means open burning, backyard fire pits and the use of barbecues with solid fuels are prohibited.