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We may be in for tough forest fire season

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NORTH BAY - It’s too soon to say what sort of forest fire season the summer of 2018 will be for northeastern Ontario, but Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry fire crews and officials are ready for whatever lies ahead.

“Right now, spring is training season, as well,” says Isabelle Chenard, fire information officer for the region. “So, we’re staying current with all the safety training. And we look at the forecast every day to see where the highest risk of fires would be based on the forecast and basically we’re ready to respond.

“We’re seeing a high hazard across the northeast region right now, seasonal temperatures and we’re looking for the hazard to potentially stick around for the next few days.”

As of Monday afternoon, there have been 107 forest fires in Ontario burning 240 hectares. That’s more than last summer, when there were only 52 fires and less than 50 hectares burned.

“And, if we look at the 10-year average of May 14, we have seen approximately 119 forest fires which had already consumed 8,328 hectares,” says Chenard. “So, we can see the trend is that we have seen more fires this year than last. However, we are significantly lower in the number of fires and hectares burned from the 10-year average.”

Chenard says officials work daily from the five-day forecast so there aren’t many long-term predictions.

“I can tell you for the next five days we’re looking at relatively dry conditions and sunny skies, so the fire hazard will stay relatively high until the long weekend. Typically, during the fire season, we see more lightning-caused fires during July and August. This time of year, we’re mostly seeing fires that are caused from human activity.

“What concerns us the most are grass fires. As the snow melts it exposes dry, dead grass from last year and woody debris that would have been on the forest floor. As the sun shines and the winds blow, then both dry up quickly and that raises the forest fire hazard.”

Campers and cottagers are being reminded to stay vigilant with their camp fires, to build them at least three metres from logs, stumps, trees and overhanging branches and at least 15 metres from buildings or tents.

“If you start a camp fire, you’re responsible for tending it and ensuring that it’s kept under control and also putting it out before you leave,” says Chenard. “And remember it’s more likely to lose control of an outdoor fire on dry, hot windy days so you should avoid burning under those conditions.”

Chenard advises property owners to make sure wood piles are at least 10 metres from any structure, areas underneath decks and eavestroughs should be cleaned.

“To ensure that sparks and embers don’t ignite the debris they’ve collected over time. Dry leaves and dead branches, pine needles and other flammable materials can pose a fire hazard when they accumulate in your eavestrough.”

To learn more about fire hazard levels and safety tips visit www.ontario.ca/forestfire.

Nationally, Natural Resources Canada’s wildland fire researchers are forecasting much of Canada having above normal fire risk. Multiple climate models suggest most of the nation will have above normal temperatures, with some regions also experiencing drier than normal conditions.

Dry winter conditions in southern Manitoba have lead to spring fire activity. A rapid change from winter to summerlike conditions in the remainder of the Prairie Provinces and western Ontario may cause a gradual increase in fire danger before summer arrives. Long-range forecasts suggest that the wildland fire season may peak in July and August with warmer than normal temperatures, with national fire danger decreasing in September as temperatures return to their seasonal averages.  Areas affected include provincial lands around and west of James Bay, and the Northwest Territories south of Great Bear Lake, while conditions in Yukon and northwestern British Columbia remain close to normal.

 

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