Three buildings were destroyed early Saturday in a brush fire in Strathcona County, just southeast of Edmonton.
At about 2:40 a.m., crews were called to an abandoned lot at Township Road 514 and Range Road 233.
When they arrived, they found a house and two outbuildings engulfed in flames, said Deputy Fire Chief Vern Elliott. The surrounding brush was also on fire. A fourth building is still standing.
About 28 firefighters worked in unique conditions to get the blaze under control by 5 a.m.
“In your career, you don’t see too many circumstances where one moment, the weather is working against you with the wind and then … an hour into it, the snow definitely helped us contain the fire,” Elliott said. “Once we were able to get the grass fires out, the snow made sure that it stayed down.”
Snowfall on Saturday helped crews keep the fire under control. (Strathcona County Fire Fighter/Paramedics/Facebook)
The fire was out by 2 p.m., he said.
No one was injured.
Investigators believe the fire was started when a car that had been left at the lot ignited and are continuing to look into the cause.
Elliott said crews fought another brush fire on Thursday afternoon, at Township Road 520 and Range Road 233. It scorched about 10 hectares of land.
Brush fire season has been underway for about a month now, according to Elliot.
“Anything that you do that involves combustible materials, please take caution,” he said.