Staff
Ontario has sent another group of FireRangers to British Columbia to aid firefighting efforts there.
After sending 122 FireRangers and support staff out west on Thursday, an additional 172 personnel were dispatched yesterday.
Among these were two four-person crews from Fort Frances, as well as a technician.
They join the two four-person crews that were deployed last week.
All in all, this makes for a total of 294 Ontario fire personnel in B.C.
The first group is now based in Merritt, located in the south-central interior of the province.
MNR FireRangers and support staff in B.C. are from various Aviation and Forest Fire Management Branch (AFFM) fire management headquarters located across Ontario.
They were dispatched from regional fire management centres in Dryden and Sudbury, as well as from the Provincial Logistics Centre in Thunder Bay.
The dispatches were co-ordinated by the MNR’s Emergency Operations Centre at the AFFM provincial centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
Requests for these resources come from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre in Winnipeg, the co-ordinating organization for dispatches among the provinces and territories.
Meanwhile, no new fires were reported in the West Fire Region over the weekend.
The forest fire hazard currently is “low” across the region as a result of continued rain, overcast conditions, and cooler-than-normal temperatures.
That said, the MNR is warning the public to be careful with outdoor fires. Campfires may be a part of enjoying the outdoors, but each year campfires cause wildfires.
To ensure your campfire doesn’t escape, make sure you keep water and a shovel nearby, never leave your fire unattended, and make sure your campfire is completely extinguished before leaving the site.
For more tips on how to have safe campfires and how to be FireSmart, visit Ontario.ca/fireprevention
