MNR expecting early fire season

Although there may be a little snow on the ground again this week, the Ministry of Natural Resources already has posted some firefighters at four of its area bases in anticipation of another early fire season this spring.
As of last Monday, headquarters here, in Dryden, Kenora, and Thunder Bay have six fire management personnel manning them–three weeks earlier than the official start of the fire season April 1.
“It’s not a full complement yet but we’re already anticipating an early year,” said George Page, senior fire officer here.
“The fact that we’ve gone for a while without snow means we’re going into spring with no run-off,” he noted. “This means the grass and brush will dry out all that quicker and make for a greater fire hazard sooner.”
While conditions were similar last year, Page noted it wasn’t quite as extreme. “This year, spring is pretty much a month ahead of time, and it’s both a regional and provincial concern,” he warned.
Although the MNR isn’t “hoping” for a rash of fires, Page said an early season may lead to them being able to free up some of the firefighters stationed here during the summer months to other provinces like Alberta.
“The remainder of the summer is often fairly quiet with an early spring, like last year, so we’re hoping that’s the case again,” he remarked.
Spring fires, unlike the many lightning-caused blazes during the summer, usually are started by human activity.
While the MNR employs about 40 firefighters here from April 1 to Oct. 31, other areas, such as Kenora, Dryden, and Thunder Bay, hire at least 60.
The MNR battled 490 fires in the region last year, using waterbombers and 109 crews of four members each.