Claresholm Local Press, Wednesday, October 7, 1998 - by Joe Ferguson, Local Press Writer

Granum firefighters learn a lesson from Firestorm ‘97

In their bid to quench the oncoming prairie fire in December 1997, Granum firefighters went straight into the inferno.

Stomp it out.

Douse it before it reaches town.

And don't quit until it's all over.

But in their zeal to complete their mission, Granum firefighters may have put themselves at risk.

"We didn't think of it (firefighter safety) at the time because when you're in a firefighter's uniform you feel indestructible in a way," said Granum Fire Chief Don Douglas.

"People probably took a little more risks because people thought they were going to beat this thing into the ground no matter what it took. We were determined that we were going to stop that thing."

In the days that followed the blaze, with the fire extinguished, and the men getting a chance to sort it all out at a debriefing, Douglas said his department learned that they have to remember firefighter safety.

"That was something that was forgotten that day," Douglas said, "Everybody was just so preoccupied with trying to bring that under control. In retrospect, we probably shouldn't have been within half a mile of that thing — it was too dangerous."

Help from good neighbors

Douglas lauded the efforts of hundreds of people who pitched in to help the dousing effort — and those who helped to get residents back on their feet again once the smoldering was done.

Twenty-two other fire departments joined in the battle along with emergency medical services from Claresholm, Nanton and Fort Macleod.

Farmers and ranchers also lent a hand loading water trucks and pumpers.

"And a special thanks to the grader operators from the M.D. of Willow Creek — they were invaluable," said Douglas.

"They just helped us immensely to control the fire line."

Douglas also laid praise on the 57-plus Hutterite colonies who helped during and after the fire.

"They just did a tremendous clean up and mop up — putting spot fires out and patrolling the area," Douglas said.

Goin' international

Scenes from the December fire will be featured on the Discovery Channel sometime around Christmas.

"We've gone international," Douglas declares, after spilling the beans about the episode to be aired that is part of a series called Storm Warnings.

The segment will feature some video footage taken by Douglas in the days after the fire, as well as footage Discovery Channel camera men collected during a tour of the area.

Douglas said he wasn't certain whether the segment would appear on the Canadian version of Discovery Channel — as this was being produced for the American channel.

 

Fort Macleod Gazette, Wednesday, October 7, 1998
- by Stu Salkeld

Porcupine Hills fire to be part of Cable TV documentary

A nationwide cable television specialty channel has recorded a segment about the Porcupine Hills fire that devastated thousands of acres of ranch land west of Granum and Fort Macleod.

Granum Fire Chief Don Douglas said that while researching his own video tape, the cable company expressed interest in broadcasting a segment on the Dec. 14, 1997 fire.

"They came out and did a two day shoot this summer," said Douglas October 2.

"We spent the time gallivanting around, doing some re-enactment with some of my firefighters and a municipal employee.

"The name of the program it's going to be on is called ‘Storm Warning,' and it is intended to be a program showing the effects of global climate change.

"We are one of about 10 different stories. Our segment will share with firestorms in California, mud slides in Peru, and a couple of others.

"We'll probably see about 10 minutes of airtime," Douglas added.

The producers told him the show will probably air before this Christmas, but no exact date is available.

Fort Macleod Gazette, Wednesday, October 7, 1998
- by Stu Salkeld

Porcupine Hills fire documented on video by Granum Fire Chief

The destructive power of last year's Porcupine Hills fire has been documented in video form by Granum Fire Department Chief Don Douglas.

Douglas, who, along with the Granum Volunteer Fire Department, found themselves in the front lines against the onslaught of the largest grass fire to hit the prairies in many, many years, and fought the fire for several days after it started December 14, 1997 said he wanted to collect video records of the fire.

"It's a historical tape basically," said Douglas October 2.

"I guess the main purpose behind it was first conducting interviews (as Fire Chief), talking to the victims of the fire, I collected a lot of information from people and a lot of their personal stories.

"I also learned a little bit about the fire, why it started, why it traveled the way it did.

"I thought this information should be preserved, for historical purposes and also as information for training other fire departments or people who face the same situation we did," said Douglas.

The Fire Chief said he learned as much as anyone when putting the video together.

"It's about 22 minutes long, explaining what, why, where and when it happened," he said.

"Basically, I learned that it probably stated as a prairie fire then became a firestorm from there.

"After that point it basically became uncontrollable.

"I researched some information from Alberta Forestry, Alberta Environment and from the Foothills Fire Relief committee people, and collected video footage from two local people who were affected by the fire.

"There's also some footage I shot myself from the air to kind of tie it together," said Douglas.

"When I started thinking about this, I talked to a friend who has done video editing and she told me what needed to be done.

"I researched it all myself and decided to buy some of my own editing equipment. For every actual minute of video footage, you have to do about 50 minutes of work.

"It was interesting and a learning experience, Maybe sometime in the future I'll do another one," said Douglas.

The video starts with raw footage from two area residents affected by the fire, illustrating the fire in its early stages.

"Then it goes into the fly-by of the whole burn areas, and some of the technical aspects of what happened are explained," said Douglas.

"Near the end we show some of the destruction and the aftermath. Then there's a thank you to everyone who offered their help when we so desperately needed it.

"The tape is as much a thank you as it is a historical or learning experience," he added.

Douglas said he doesn't plan to mass produce the tape.

"I haven't been taking orders for it," he said.

"I'm happy to show it to fire departments, senior citizens groups or whoever. I don't charge anything unless I have to travel farther than 50 miles, and then just my expenses.

"Usually, I just ask that people make a donation to our fire department, which we would graciously accept.

"I didn't do this to make any money. I just wanted people to watch this and kind of remember some of the events of that day." he added.