Wildfire taking a toll on volunteer firefighters

Instead of seeding his fields and helping his calving cows, he is spending 19 hours a day with his crew and 200 other firefighters from around the province working to get the blaze under control.

Kozyk is relying on his parents to make sure that his 3,000 acre farm continues to thrive.

"I haven't seen the wife and haven't seen or talked to mom or dad at all to see what's going on at the farm," Kozyk said Monday. "We're still calving cows, and I don't know what's going on."

County firefighters are volunteer and do not get paid for their work, and Kozyk is not alone in the struggle to balance fighting the fire and working full time both on and off the farm. He says that many who volunteer have been residents of the area for years and do it out of complete love for where they live.

Kozyk began volunteering at 18 and two years later he became Chief at the Newbrook fire station. Eleven years before he joined his family lost buildings in a fire.

"I don't want it to happen to anyone else," he said. "You can replace a building, but you can't replace life

In addition most of those fighting can only afford six days off before they have to return to their jobs and their farms, says Thorhild County deputy reeve Kevin Grumetza.

"They gotta get their field work and seeding done, and that kind of stuff. A lot of them have put it off for a few days, but sooner or later they eventually have to go do what they have to do, " he said.

Winds and hot temperatures forecasted for today is only going to make extinguishing the blaze more difficult.

A few residents near Half Moon Lake had to be evacuated Sunday night because strong winds enabled the fire to jump over a 25 meter wide ditch which furthered its growth another 800 hectares.

"It'll be a busy day," Grumetza said. "But if the tables are ever turned, I would hope somebody would be there to come and help me out when I get in trouble, too.

The fire is now considered a Level 1, so provincial resources have been brought in to help.

Crews are confident that the perimeter that they have put around the fire is going to be enough to hold it.

With files from The Edmonton Journal