December 14, 1997

On December 14, 1997, at approximately 11:10 a.m. a fire ignited in The Municipal District of Pincher Creek which would ultimately spread into The Municipal District of Willow Creek No. 26 and consumed an area in excess of 50,000 acres. Environmental conditions at the time, combined with topography and geographical locations, made the fire virtually uncontrollable. The following are some of the losses: livestock, four homes including contents, corrals, fences, equipment, feed and bedding, winter pasture and buildings suffered severe smoke damage.

Abnormal and extremely low precipitation through the late summer and fall and abnormally warm conditions with considerable amounts of wind in the weeks preceding the fire resulted in desiccation of the grasses and stubble. Absence of soil moisture or frost, lack of snow accumulation or drifts to slow the progress of the fire, and geographical isolation from fire fighting equipment and volunteers, limited access and to complicate things further it was fanned by extremely strong southwest winds.

There were approximately 17,645 hectares of grassland and 4,208 hectares of cultivated land affected. Production has been set back for a number of years and soil erosion was severe.

Many towns, counties, municipalities, fire departments, and ambulance services and colonies from across Southern Alberta were dispatched to help fight the fire, supply meals, medical care, etc. A volunteer group set up a donation program to help the fire victims, which included cash, livestock supplies, and household items.