With the Ministry of Natural Resources’ fire season officially over today (Oct. 31), an overview of the past six months shows the number of fires to be less than last year but a little above the 15-year average.
MNR fire management supervisor Harrold Boven said Tuesday that Fort Frances District ended up seeing a total of 94 fires since April 1, consuming just 39 hectares.
That was far less than last year’s total of 191 blazes, but slightly above the 15-year average of 82 fires per year.
The majority of fires—more than 60—started in August. And with periods of intense thunderstorms this past summer, it’s no surprise that 61 of the 94 fires were sparked by lightning.
Boven said the year was noteworthy in that the MNR fires season started in a drought until the third week in May, and then it rained heavily. But drought-like conditions returned by mid-July, lasting until the end of September, when sustained rains began to fall again.
“Basically, what were looking at right now is that we’re out of our drought situation as we speak,” said Boven. “Water levels are pretty close to normal.
“We’re going into the winter how we should be,” he added. “That’s not to say at the end of the winter, we’ll have the snow. But right now, we’re fine.
“We’ll just have to reassess that once we run into March or the start of the 2008 fire season.”
This fire season, the local MNR fire headquarters sent away crews to fight fires elsewhere in the region, as well as British Columbia and Quebec. One staff member also went to Michigan.
Over the winter, MNR fire management will be “tidying things up from the summer,” noted Boven.
That includes checking equipment and replacing what they need to, putting vehicles away for the winter, and shifting to administrative business like compiling annual reports, updating agreements with municipalities and forestry companies, and auditing slash pile burning.
By mid-February, fire management will start gearing up for the 2008 fire season, which starts April 1, and begin hiring firefighters.
Boven said just because the MNR fire season is officially over, as per the Fire Prevention Act, district residents still need to check with their municipality or local fire officials if they plan to do any burning.
(Fort Frances Times)
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