Duane Hicks
The Ministry of Natural Resources’ fire season officially starts tomorrow (April 1), but both MNR crews and municipal firefighters across the district already have been called into action to fight grass fires in parts of the region where the hazard is rated as “high-extreme.”
In response to that, municipal fire departments in Rainy River District have declared a ban on all open-air burning until conditions improve while the MNR is asking people living outside of municipalities to refrain from burning, as well.
“Before the fire season has even started, we are picking up wildfires and clearly that’s a concern for us,” said Deb MacLean, fire information officer with MNR Aviation, Forest Fire, and Emergency Services.
“Dry conditions, combined with the fact it’s early spring and we have a lot of dead grass and vegetation and we haven’t had any new growth yet . . . means that any source of ignition has the potential to become a wildfire,” she warned.
“And from what we’re seeing, that is happening.”
MacLean said the fire hazard is “high” across most of region (except the far north), and “high-extreme” here in Fort Frances District.
The local MNR office has responded to four fires since last Thursday, including two which occurred Sunday.
As well, district municipalities have fought grass fires in Watten, Emo, Chapple, and Dawson townships.
MacLean clarified the MNR has not officially declared a restricted fire zone or any other such restriction as this point, but are asking people not to burn.
“The Ministry of Natural Resources is sending a strong warning out to people that with these conditions, it really is better that people don’t set any kind of outdoor fire,” she stressed.
“It’s very windy, very dry, so what people may think they might be able to manage is probably not necessarily the case—the conditions are so dry, it may surprise people.”
While there’s a chance of rain in the short-term forecast, MacLean said it will take more than a little precipitation to change the fire hazard.
Not only is there an abundance of dry fuels that have yet to “green up,” but the ground is still frozen in some places and water is more likely to run off instead of seep into the earth.
“The caution is going to stay in place until we have significant rainfall, not just some rainfall,” MacLean said.
She noted while this isn’t necessarily the driest spring on record (some years have seen fires burning through the winter), the past couple of fire seasons have seen record low numbers of blazes.
“It may have allowed people to develop some bad habits, maybe not be so vigilant with their fires or concerned about the potential risk of escape,” she reasoned.
“But when it comes to the risk involved, it isn’t so much about what has happened in previous years. It’s on a day-to-day basis, and at this point in time we are dealing with an extreme fire hazard that maybe within a week or two is going to be gone,” she explained.
“But in between now and when that fire hazard eases, there’s a potential for not only a grass fire that burns up a field, but a fire that threatens people and perhaps buildings, as well,” she warned.
“Those are the real concerns that we have with human-caused fires, particularly in volatile conditions like that—what is the potential risk to people and property?”
Even when the fire hazard decreases, the public is reminded to always be careful with fires.
During the MNR fire season (April 1-Oct. 31), burning during the day is prohibited. A person cannot light a fire more than two hours before sunset and it must be extinguished within two hours after sunrise.
MacLean stressed the public should know they are responsible for the safe management of their fires year-round. And should any of their actions cause a wildfire, enforcement will be called in and the negligent party will be prosecuted.
The public is encouraged to check out www.ontario.ca/fireprevention for more information.
Meanwhile, in anticipation of the 2010 fire season, MacLean said the MNR is in the process of bringing crew leaders and pilots on for training and re-certification.
By mid-April, fire crew members will be hired, trained, and brought on board. And by mid- to late-April, they’ll have a full complement of resources, personnel, and aircraft in place across the region.
“Of course, if for some reason we get a lot of fire activity in a certain area, and we don’t have the resources in that one district, they’ll come from other districts,” MacLean said.
The total number of fires in Ontario last season was 384, burning 20,656 hectares in all.
The West Fire Region recorded 194 fires, having consumed a total area of 13,934 ha.
It was the second-slowest on record in terms of the number of forest fires, close behind the 2008 forest fire season, when there only were 341 fires in Ontario, burning just 1,316 ha.
