The Okotoks Fire Department responded to 26 calls this past week.

Fire Chief Ken Thevenot says it was a busier than average time for the department, who dealt with a wide variety of different situations over the past seven days.

"We had five alarm system activations, three other investigations we attended to, one fire incident, 11 medical responses, one mutual aid response for another fire department, two public hazards, we had somebody locked in a vehicle, two motor vehicle accidents, and another rescue we assisted with."

Okotoks hasn't seen a grassfire in the past few weeks, but many areas throughout southern Alberta have seen large scale fires causing evacuations.

Thevenot says autumn brings different challenges to fire departments, adding people must use extra caution this time of year.

"There's no doubt that the dryness out there right now and some of the areas that are browned up would ignite very quickly in the event of a discarded cigarette for example, which is one of our causes around here. Especially with this wind,as we see in the Chain Lakes area and in the last week, the winds that we've been having can create many challenges and problems for us with our field and grass fires."

While Okotoks has no advisories or restrictions right now it's important residents use common sense, especially when having a fire.

Okotoks Fire Services does not recommend using a fire pit or having an outdoor fire when winds reach 20 to 30 km/h.

Thevenot shares the situations in Alberta over the past week show how much wind, and early detection plays a role in battling grass fires.

"I would ask the general public to call into 911 if you see or think there's a grass fire before it spreads too far, especially with these winds we've had, it's something to be very cautious with."

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