After a couple of slow weeks, the last week of Summer was a busy one for the Okotoks Fire Department.

Fire Chief Ken Thevenot says the Fire Department responded to 25 calls, a significant jump from the last few weeks.

"Our normal is around the 20-mark," he says. "The last two-to-three weeks have been not as busy, so this was a busier week. Total responses year-to-date is 725, which is consistently ahead of where we were last year—we're 93 calls ahead of last year at this time."

Between Aug 24 and Aug 30, the department responded to three fire calls, one fire investigation, 14 medical responses, four public hazards, two alarm system activations, and one motor vehicle collision.

Thevenot says a structure fire just East of Aldersyde last week is one call that stands out.

"That was one of our bigger calls," he says. "The shed was adjacent to the house, which caused minor damage to the house, but it could've been worse. We had a fairly quick response to that area, and we got it under control, extinguishing it fairly quickly, and tried to lessen the damage to the house."

Thevenot says overall, residents did a good job complying with the fire ban put into place due to low air quality.

He says the ban will continue for the next few days.

"The smoke conditions are supposed to get worse again, so we'll continue to have the ban on until such time as we're sure the smoky conditions are done," he says.