MANITOUWADGE – It’s been a slow start to the fire season this year largely due to some spring snowfall and a lot of summer rain, but the Manitouwadge Fire Department would like to remind community members to keep an eye on the hazard rating.
“I get daily notifications from the MNRF about where the hazard rating should be on a given day and it had been really low and then yesterday it bumped up to moderate and today it is back down to low, it just depends on the amount of rain we get over any given period of time,” said Don Kruger, fire chief for the Township of Manitouwadge.
“For example: towards the end of last week, it actually got up into the high rating for our area but then we’ve gotten some rain over the last couple of days and that has brought it back down. Basically, they measure a whole different set of metrics.”
During the fire season, from Apr. 1 to Oct. 31, there is no daytime burning allowed and fire bans will be put into place should the hazard ratings get into the very high to extreme end of the spectrum.
“That’s typically when the MNRF would put a fire ban into place but also municipalities are allowed to do the same thing if they so desire,” said Kruger.
In the meantime, during low and moderate fire hazard ratings, Kruger urges community members to practice fire safety by doing things like making sure that fires are completely out after use and having a good firepit to keep flames contained.
“And the other part of that would be making sure that you know what you’re burning is not going to be shooting up a lot of embers into the sky that could carry into the bush if the property neighbours on forest or wild land,” he said.
“And then the other part would be keeping their yard or their property clear of dried leaves and copious amounts of pine needles and just kind of keeping the area around where you might be having a fire cleared and well maintained.”
For more information on the current fire hazard level of your area, visit the MNRF’s forest fire information website. And keep up to date on possible fire bans by checking your municipality’s website and social media.
