Diamond Valley residents eager to sit by the fire in their backyards can finally do so.
The Towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley lifted the fire ban on Sept. 15 following three days of cool temperatures and rain.
“My rain gauge has got two and a half inches in it from when it started raining on Wednesday night,” said Black Diamond Fire Chief Jamie Campbell on Friday afternoon.
“It’s predicted to be on and off rain for the next few days.”
Campbell said the fire ban has been in place for about a month.
Prior to that, the Towns issued fire restrictions due to a drier than average spring.
“We changed it to a ban when things continued to dry out and we got no precipitation,” he said.
“We went into July dry and August was dry and September was dry at the beginning. Now we’re getting a little moister.”
Campbell said the Towns haven’t issued a fire ban since the 2013 flood, when they lost most of their water sources and didn’t have adequate water to put out large fires.
This summer rated hotter and dryer than average in the Foothills, according to meteorologists.
“For dry weather it was fairly significant,” Campbell said. “Usually June is quite wet for southern Alberta and this June wasn’t super wet.”
Lifting the fire ban will get life back to normal for those who enjoy barbecuing and sitting at the fire pit, Campbell said.
“Like anything it can change if the weather changes but for now we’re going to business as usual,” he said.
