Duane Hicks
In contrast to last year, the Ministry of Natural Resources fire season officially began April 1 with no active fires to report.
“I think it’s significant that we’re starting the fire season with no active fires,” said Northwest Region fire information officer Deb MacLean.
“In 2012, we already had up to I believe it was 14 fires by the time the season started,” she recalled, noting there was a fire in Kenora District as early as January last year.
“We had a busy spring leading up the start of the season in 2012, so there’s a stark difference between that and this year.”
MNR weather specialists report heavy snow cover in the northwest from Fort Frances District up north to Red Lake District, and from the east to the west.
“That’s going to have an impact on the fire hazard,” said MacLean. “Clearly, what happens normally is that the fields will clear and you’ll have a lot of dead grass and that becomes a spring hazard.
“Right now, we still have snow cover.”
Nonetheless, the start of the MNR’s fire season means there are guidelines people have to follow under the Forest Fires Prevention Act.
MacLean urged the public to visit ontario.ca/fireprevention for a number of fire safety rules and tips.
A primary example is burning during the day is prohibited right now. This means people burning grass and debris can’t start a fire any sooner than two hours before sunset.
Make sure fires are out two hours after sunrise (or earlier), and don’t even consider burning when it’s windy.
Meanwhile, MacLean said having a quiet start to the fire season gives MNR Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services more time to prepare.
Pilots who already have done ground school will be taking to the air in a week or two to do their air training.
Fire officers will start coming on this week. Fire crew leaders will start orientation and mandatory training, followed by fire crew bosses coming on.
Before the end of April, a full complement of FireRangers will be in their crew configurations.
The provincial logistics centre in Thunder Bay, where they manage equipment, is doing its final checks and run-ups of the equipment that’s been in storage over the winter.
“Despite the fact that we have snow on the ground, the whole program has to be place and ready for that first fire when it does come,” MacLean stressed.
The MNR fire season ends Oct. 31.
