Farmers Work Together to Save Ranches From Raging Alberta Wildfires

Smoke billows above cattle on a farm as wildfires burn in Alberta in May 2023. Courtesy of Grant Taillieu

EDMONTON--Fred Young, a rural Alberta farmer with 140 acres of land west of Edmonton, started to worry when the thick smoke outside made it hard to breathe. Flames were engulfing the region in late April and early May, and farmers were struggling to rescue their livestock, he says.

Soon after, on May 4, RCMP officers went door to door, telling residents that it was mandatory to evacuate due to out-of-control wildfires spreading across the province.

“I’ve lived here almost 30 years. It’s the first time RCMP ever came to my door to say we had to get out,” Young told The Epoch Times on May 9.

Young is among the more than 29,000 Albertans displaced as a result of the wildfires, one of many residents who benefited from neighbours and the rural community coming together to save as many properties as possible.

Alberta officials have called this year’s wildfires unprecedented. There have been 421 fires as of May 9. This time last year, there were only 220 wildfires, with 532.44 hectares burned. By May 8 this year, the wildfires had already razed some 390,000 hectares, according to figures provided by Alberta Wildfire.

More than 700 wildland firefighters are on the ground fighting the fires, trying to keep them from destroying homes and buildings throughout most of the province, from as far south as Red Deer to as far north as Peace River. Over two dozen of those fires were deemed out of control even as crews worked day and night, holding some blazes from spreading and extinguishing others entirely.

When the evacuation notice came for the Evansburg and Entwistle area, Young and his wife sought refuge at a friend’s rural farm closer to Edmonton, along with two other farm families that were also welcomed after fleeing the wildfires.

“People out here have been amazing. If you need help, no one turns you down. They just say, get in the truck and come here,” Young says.

An active wildfire 14 kilometres southeast of Edson, Alta. The Canadian Press/HO-Government of Alberta

Five Farms Saved

Not all farmers are able to transport large numbers of livestock in a last-minute evacuation, and that was the case for Young, who has 21 young bulls on his land belonging to another farmer’s 1,400 head of cattle.

Young’s property is located about a kilometre away from the small hamlet of Evansburg in Yellowhead County, about 88 kilometres west of Edmonton. For the last three years, he has had an agreement with another rancher, Grant Taillieu, to lease land on Young’s property for livestock.

Young said he would not have been able to move the bulls if the fire had hit his land. They were in a wintering pen during the cold weather, but when the fires started, he opened the gates and let them out to summer pasture. He kept Taillieu informed as the fire situation worsened.

That relationship turns out to have saved Young’s homestead and at least five other neighbouring farms the first week of May as two active wildfires raged nearby, one to the east of Evansburg in Parkland County, and one to the west in Yellowhead County.

Taillieu told The Epoch Times he went to Young’s property to protect his livestock, travelling 30 minutes from his ranch near Tomahawk, bringing water and feed. He ended up fighting fires.

Accompanied by three of his six ranch-hands, Taillieu headed out with a bulldozer and a full-sized water tanker.

“We can send water like a fire truck,” he said. “We have fire hoses, nozzles, pumps.”

As he drove along Highway 16A, he stopped to put out small fires along the way, and loaded the bulldozer to dig at least a half dozen fire breaks. One house was “a little on fire,” said Taillieu, and he and his team promptly extinguished it.

“A handful of farmers and locals were helping,” he said, adding that while none have firefighting training, it’s different in rural Alberta. “Families live alongside each other, sometimes their whole lives. We help each other.”

Grant Taillieu, a rancher from western Alberta, used his full size water truck to save multiple farms from wildfires near Evansburg on May 5, 2023. Courtesy of Fred Young

When Taillieu arrived at Young’s ranch on May 5, nearby farmers with small portable water tanks on pickup trucks were doing their best to put out fires. While some farmers evacuated, others refused.

“They were trying to save their own properties and neighbouring farms before the flames got really close,” Young said. “Everyone was helping to fight these fires.”

By this time, wildfires had been sweeping through the area for days. A state of emergency was declared and a mandatory evacuation notice issued on April 30. That order was lifted on May 3, but by May 5 the fire had doubled in size and the evacuation order was reissued.

Fire crews in Parkland County were working around the clock to control the blaze, put out hot spots, and check on properties. Fire crews were digging fire guards around the perimeter and deploying sprinkler systems to try and stop the fire from spreading, while air tankers and helicopters were dropping fire retardant chemicals on the blaze.

Parkland County said high winds and dry conditions were creating “an extremely volatile fire situation.”

Safe Havens for Farm Animals

Rural Alberta and the agricultural industry have rallied together to provide resources for displaced ranchers and farmers. On May 5, Alberta Beef Producers (ABP), with help from other members of the industry, created a map showing all of the province’s agricultural and rodeo societies that have opened their doors to evacuated livestock.

“It’s been updated to include nearly 40 locations across the province, spanning as far south as Cochrane, to as far north as Peace River,” Debra Murphy, ABP stakeholder relations manager, told The Epoch Times.

Murphy said the organization is focused on communication with farmers and ranchers, especially around the fire zones. Anyone who needs help with their animals can find housing for livestock with one of the societies.

A photo of the fires burning in Alberta. Courtesy of Grant Taillieu

Chantelle Lalond, with the Darwell & District Agricultural Society, said that in some cases farmers have had “a very short period of time to evacuate.”

“We have had fires ripping through our area,” she told The Epoch Times on May 8. “All the farmers are helping each other.”

Lalond, a fourth-generation farmer, said she is a little more prepared this time around because half her land was flooded a few years ago. During the wildfires this past week, she helped a nearby farmer with 18 horses who needed a safe haven for the animals due to fire.

“We had 18 horses, in 17 different pens. You can’t have studs with mares, babies with geldings,” she explained.

Lalond said a lot of farmers have horses that are not broken, and are difficult to manage in an emergency. “Not to mention chickens, rabbits, all the backyard farmers.”

“Farmers have to watch and be more prepared than most people,” she said.

Wildfires near Evansburg, Alta., raged the first week of May 2023, as farmers tried to save their properties. Courtesy of Grant Taillieu

‘So Thankful’

Taillieu said that as everyone pitched in to fight the fires threatening the properties in the Evansburg area, they weren’t interfering with any official firefighting efforts because there were no fire crews where they were.

“As it should be. I mean, a town of 7,000 people or a hospital takes a lot more priority than a couple of farms or properties,” he said.

Young said his friend’s help meant everything at such a dire time.

“Grant saved at least five farms from going up in flames. I’m so thankful for him, and I know my neighbour next door is also grateful. He saved our farms,” he said.

“Grant is amazing. He was a hero,” Young added. “There are five homes that are here today that might not have been here if it wasn’t for him.”