While the fire season has been fairly quiet here since April 1, Ministry of Natural Resources firefighters could see a lot more action as summer gets into full swing.
“Right now, we’re at the ‘moderate’ hazard level across the Fort Frances District,” sector response officer Marney Brown said Thursday morning.
“But we keep well-informed with the weather situation,” she added. “We are into some good drying days ahead, with a good chance of thunderstorms bringing lightning through here.”
With things expected to heat up as the temperatures rise into the late-20 C range over the weekend, a full complement of firefighters is braced for action here.
“All the crews have been back from Alberta for about a week now, and the last crew from the East Fire Region comes back today,” Brown noted.
Five four-person crews were sent to northern Alberta last month to fight a myriad of blazes ravaging forests there. Earlier this month, two crews also were deployed to Ranger Lake, near Sault Ste. Marie, to help firefighters there.
Brown said with the fire hazard expected to jump soon, the MNR is recommending people not do daylight burnings unless they have a permit.
“And in the dry season, we advise the municipalities not to issue them out,” she added.
Meanwhile, fire activity is calm throughout most of the West Fire Region. Brown noted only one fire currently is burning in the Fort Frances District–a 0.2 hectare lightning-caused blaze in the prescribed natural fire zone at the north end of Quetico Provincial Park.
The only other recent fire was a 0.1-ha blaze which also burned in Quetico last weekend.
While fires are burning in the Red Lake (11), Sioux Lookout (seven), and Nipigon districts (nine), Andrew Larmandi, regional fire information officer, noted all are simply “being observed,” and may be declared “out” in a day or two.
There currently are no active fires in the Dryden, Kenora, and Thunder Bay districts.
Since April, Fort Frances District has seen only seven fires to date, consuming a total of 45 ha, while the region has seen a total of just 190 fires, burning 2,038 ha.
Fort Frances Times
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