Many of the local FireRanger crews with the Ministry of Natural Resources who returned from out west last week are headed back to British Columbia and Alberta to help fight fires that continue to rage there.
Marnie Brown, acting fire operations supervisor for the MNR in Fort Frances, said the region has sent approximately 30 firefighters and support staff to the two western provinces since the fires began.
“Some crews left on Sunday to go out-of-province for the second time,” Brown said.
Crews are generally made up of four people, who make up an initial attack system.
Brown said five crews of four are sometimes sent out together as a 20-person unit to perform a sustained attack on a fire.
There are currently more than 800 fires burning in British Columbia, as well as many in Alberta. Thousands of hectares are burning, and in Kelowna, B.C., 248 homes have been destroyed at last count.
“Up until Sunday, most of our crews were assisting in Alberta,” Brown noted. She said another crew would be sent to B.C. on Thursday, making the number of crews from this district about equal in both provinces.
Among those sent out-of-province was Matt Myers, a local fire operations supervisor for the MNR.
Myers got back from the Kamloops area on Wednesday of last week, and shipped out again this past Sunday.
“A lot of crews felt bad about having to go when they’re in such dire straits there,” he said about leaving last week. “It’s quite something out there.”
Crews spend a total of 19 days fighting fires, during which they sometimes work 24 hours straight or longer. They are then required to take at least two days off.
Myers added that the media reports of the damage and destruction cannot compare with seeing it first hand.
“People are desensitized to a certain extent with the media,” he said. “People and communities are losing their homes. It’s a disaster.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen it as dry, or conditions as explosive, or so many fires so close to communities,” he said. “It’s certainly more extreme than any situation that I’ve been in.”
Myers added that he’s proud to be able to help.
“Ontario has a lot of skills in that regard. We’re doing what we can to help out,” he remarked. “Having skills in that area makes you feel compelled [to help].”
The MNR has to strike a careful balance between sending help to other provinces while keeping enough crews back in case the fire situation heats up here.
Last week, there were 20 fires burning in the Fort Frances district. All were put out within three days.
“We’re still concerned about the fire hazard,” Brown said. “We’re maintaining adequate levels of resources to meet our needs. Anything above and beyond that is available to provide assistance elsewhere.”
Myers agreed. “The Ministry of Natural Resources has done a great job of balancing the needs.
“We work under a centralized system,” he continued. “They would ensure there were enough resources throughout the region to handle any problems within the region, in a centralized fashion.”
Meaning crews could be brought in from Dryden or Thunder Bay if things got out of hand in the Fort Frances district.
“Should the predicted situation look like it’s going to be more than the resources available [can handle], then we’ll pull back resources from out-of-province, and those resources can be back within 24 hours,” Myers noted.
In Fort Frances, the current fire hazard is listed as “moderate” to “high.”
“There are no fires currently burning,” Brown said, but there is the possibility of “hold-over lightning fires” appearing over the next day or two.
These are fires that could have started from lightning strikes a few days ago, but are not yet visible because of wind and humidity conditions.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
