Fire Ban in Saddle Hills County - May 8, 2025

Due to the lack of precipitation, and dry and windy conditions, Saddle Hills County has upgraded the Fire Restriction to a FIRE BAN. This Fire Ban applies to all areas outside of the Forest Protection Area, including private land, crown land, and recreational areas.

A Fire Ban is also in place for the Grande Prairie Forest Protection Area.

Prohibited:

  • All outdoor wood fires, including designated firepits, backyard firepits, burning barrels, and any wood campfires on public or private land.
  • BBQ charcoal briquettes.
  • Fireworks and exploding targets.
  • Burning of brush piles, windrows or other debris.

Allowed (with caution):

  • Propane/natural gas-powered appliances.
  • Open flame oil devices (e.g. turkey deep fryers, tiki torches).
  • Indoor wood fires contained within a device with a chimney and spark arrestor.
  • Off-Highway Vehicles.

Please note, all appliances must be CSA approved and used per manufacturer’s standards.

This Fire Ban will remain in effect until conditions improve.

Never leave a campfire unattended. Soak it, stir it and soak it again until cool to the touch to ensure it is extinguished.

If you see a wildfire, report it immediately by calling 9-1-1 or 310-FIRE.

Peace Officer Report - April, 2025

By Saddle Hills County - May 08, 2025

The County currently has one Peace Officer on staff, Wayne Olson, working approximately 40 hours a week. This time is divided into shifts, weekday and weekend, daytime and evening, and is split between the office and the seven wards.

Our Peace Officer's duties centre around education and bylaw enforcement, they do not enforce criminal code violations. Criminal code violations include things such as theft, break and enter, domestic abuse, assault, and drug offences, among other more serious crimes such as homicide.

During April, Wayne's work was focused mainly on highways and in areas where issues has been reported, either by staff or members of the community, as well as looking into concerns raised via the online reporting system.

Over the course of the month, Wayne stopped 15 drivers for speeding, 11 of which were going over the posted 100 km/h limit and 4 who were going over the 50 km/h limit. An additional driver was also stopped for running a stop sign.

Of those stopped, 3 did not have proper proof of registration and 3 more did not have proper proof of insurance.

During April, Wayne worked a total of 153 hours, covering both administrative work and patrols, as well as approximately 2 hours of investigative work for break-ins and burns without permits.

He also completed the Dangerous Goods On-Highways Inspector course, which ran from April 29 - May 1. 

2025 Peace Officer Stats. to Date

Interested in learning more about the Peace Officer program and crime prevention in Saddle Hills County? Visit our Crime Prevention page.

Contact Us

Saddle Hills
Junction of Hwy 49 & Secondary Hwy 725
RR1, Spirit River AB
T0H 3G0
T. 780-864-3760
Fax 780-864-3904
Toll-free 1-888-864-3760
frontdesk@saddlehills.ab.ca

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