MNR urges caution with fires

The forest fire hazard is “high” across the district and the Ministry of Natural Resources is urging residents to use extreme caution when lighting campfires.
“[The] forest fire index is pretty much ‘high to extreme’ in the Fort Frances District,” Marney Brown, sector response officer for the Ministry of Natural Resources, warned this morning.
“It is especially high in the east end of the district around Atikokan and Quetico Park,” she noted.
The woods have been extremely dry for the last three-four days. No fire were reported in the district as of press time today but Brown doesn’t think that will last for long.
“With the lightning we had last night, we are anticipating [the] flaring up of fires in the next couple of days,” Brown said.
MNR fire crews have been battling blazes right across Northwestern Ontario.
The ministry is considering declaring a restricted fire zone but hasn’t done so yet. But it has suggested to municipalities that no daytime burning be permitted for the time being.
“If at all possible, we are urging people not to use campfires,” Brown said.
And Brown said conditions in the bush aren’t expected to get better anytime soon.
“We’re looking at pretty dry conditions for the next five to seven days,” she noted. “There may be a little rain but nothing significant for forests in the next week.”