A resident close to Wednesday's wildfire says he and his wife heard loud voices of youth in the woods prior to smoke starting to rise from the forest.

Arnie Ferster, a resident in West Pointe who's deck faces the river, says the area that ignited is a popular area for people to walk their dogs, but it also tends to be a hang out for youth and there's a temporary shelter and cooler located in the area.

He and his wife were sitting on the deck about 2:30 p.m. when they heard a commotion in the normally quiet neighbourhood.

"Just shortly thereafter we heard some really quite loud kids' voices coming from the other side of the river.  We don't often hear that so we were a little bit surprised but we didn't think much of it."

They returned inside and when he looked outside around 3 p.m. he saw smoke billowing from the area. Seeing the smoke was going east to west gave them comfort and they didn't feel in jeopardy, he says. Then the firefighters came and did an excellent job of extinguishing the blaze.

Visiting the area you would hardly notice any visual impact of the wildfire that is now measured to have 12.5 hectares of burned area. That's a relief to the neighbourhood blessed with a serene setting that's also enjoyed by many other residents along the Glen Boles Trail. The other side of the river, part of the Stoney Nakoda Nation, is also a popular area for people to walk their dogs.

"We were worried that we were going to lose that beautiful view. Everything is pretty much intact except the red fire retardant from the flyovers."

Ferster says they were told they might receive a call as part of the investigation but hadn't received one as of Thursday night.

The fire investigator arrived on the scene yesterday afternoon to start the investigation, says Wildfire information officer Matt Bell.

"There are properly checks that need to be done and we're looking at different scenarios to determine the cause."

The fire is currently listed as under control and today 12 firefighters and one helicopter were scheduled to be on the scene.

"We're assessing the fire on a grand scale and making sure that we are checking all the hot spots and the area to make sure it's fully extinguished."

At its peak, AFS has three crews totalling 18 firefighters on the scene plus four helicopters and two air tankers. The Cochrane Fire Service and Rocky View County also provided crews and equipment and were the first responders.

No Trespassing

In the wake of the fire, the Town of Cochrane is now advising people to obey the "No Trespassing" signs. Noting AFS is still investigating the fire, those entering the area may put themselves at risk and put the investigation at risk. The land is the property of the Stoney Nakoda Nation.