Rural areas on fire watch

By Carl Clutchey
Local Journalism Initiative
Reporter
The Chronicle-Journal
Some rural Thunder Bay municipalities contemplated bans on outdoor burning on Friday, as ground conditions continued to dry out and local fire departments remained strapped for volunteers.
“There’s still a bit of moisture in the bush, but it’s drying up,” said Conmee fire Chief Robb Day.
“There’s no ban on right now, but we’ll be watching the situation closely,” Day added. “Things can change quickly.”
Gillies Township implemented a ban on outdoor burning as of early Friday afternoon, while the Municipality of Neebing said a temporary ban would take effect on Monday.
Neebing’s “48-hour” burn ban is to be in effect while the municipality replaces a culvert on Sturgeon Bay Road “to reduce the risk of fire incidents while emergency services are positioned to support the road closure,” a municipal bulletin said on Friday.
On Thursday afternoon, Conmee’s fire department responded to a fire that lit up in the bush on a piece of private property along Torrie Road.
Day said his crew had the blaze “knocked down” in about an hour, but the department was at the scene for about two more hours while firefighters put out hot-spots. Provincial firefighters assisted with the effort, Day said.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known, Day said.
Last year around the same time, rural Thunder Bay fire departments issued a plea for extra caution after numerous grass fires were taxing their ability to respond to fires and other emergencies.
“Everyone is struggling to attract volunteers,” Day noted.
Meanwhile this week, Fort William First Nation conducted some controlled burns in the community to eliminate the potential for large fires. Controlled burns “reduce wildfire risk by clearing dead wood and underbrush, restores ecosystem health, and improves wildlife habitat,” a FWFN bulletin said.
On Friday, the Ministry of Natural Resources said there were no active wildfires in Northwestern Ontario.
Last year’s Ontario wildfire season was one of the worst in memory, burning about 6,000 square kilometres of grass and forested areas across the province. Most of the fires occurred in Northern Ontario.