Parks Canada slaps Banff with extreme fire danger warning
Fires in the national park have to be in designated pits
Banff National Park is now under an extreme fire danger warning.
"With the current warm and dry weather, the vegetation has dried out to the point where there is an elevated risk of fire," Jane Park at Parks Canada told CBC News Tuesday.
"We have got our fire crews and personnel at the ready in case any fires arise."
Park is a fire and vegetation specialist with the Banff field unit.
She says as of Tuesday morning, there is no park-wide fire ban but lots of caution is needed.
"Fires are only allowed in designated fire pits, otherwise they are totally illegal. It is not like the province where you can go on Crown land and make a fire pit," Park said.
So, when can you get up-to-date fire ban information?
Bans are posted online at Parks Canada and the Alberta fire ban site, as well as on signs posted throughout the park.
"Keep fires small, monitor them and put them out when they leave," Park said.
"We will be monitoring both the front and backcountry by ground and helicopter to make sure we don't have any illegal fires or holdover fires from lightning."
With files from Diane Yanko