Fire season starts today

The Ministry of Natural Resources is finding the 2004 fire season, which runs April 1 through Oct. 31, is off to a slow start here.
“There’s no fires to report at this time,” MNR fire information officer Deb McLean said Thursday morning.
“We are looking at some nice weather. Fort Frances is, in fact, one of the first districts in the region to see signs of spring,” she noted. “Snow is receding in open fields.
“We have had earlier springs, and there’s been times when we had to call out crews in March,” she added. “But so far, so good.”
But McLean also noted spring is an unpredictable time of the year when it comes to grassfires and it’s entirely possible the MNR will see blazes—particularly those cause by human activity—at any time now.
“When the snow goes away, people usually want to do a spring clean-up. The snow has receded, but the grass hasn’t turned green yet.
“That’s when the open fields are 100 percent dead material. And that’s when there’s a real danger of fire,” she warned.
McLean said she was talking with MNR fire operations supervisor Harrold Boven on Wednesday, who stressed one of the concerns in the Fort Frances District has been outdoor stoves.
At least four fires have started because of these in the past few years.
McLean said the problem is deteriorating or poorly-maintained stoves, which often have holes in the chimney or elsewhere on the body, where sparks can fly out and ignite materials nearby.
“People also often have their stove where there’s debris or vegetation around them. Some people have theirs right by their wood pile,” she remarked.
McLean noted burning during the day is prohibited right now, and if anyone wants to do any burning at all, they should contact the local MNR.
About 10 fires were reported in the West Fire Region in the first week of April last year—most of which were man-caused brush or shore lunch blazes.
McLean said the MNR’s fire management currently are training and soon will bring the seasonal firefighters on staff for the season.