New wildfires reported in Wawa area
Thursday, August 30, 2012 by: SooToday.com Staff
NEWS RELEASE
MINISTRY OF
NATURAL RESOURCES
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New fires
Three new fires were confirmed late afternoon and into the evening yesterday.
Two small fires in the Wawa area are under control at 0.1 hectares each.
Wawa 41 is located in Lake Superior Provincial Park and Wawa 42 is located north of Pukaskwa National Park.
Sudbury fire number 188, located near Worthington, is 0.2 hectares in size and is under control.
Three new fires were confirmed in the region today as of the time of this report.
Wawa fires 43 and 44 are located east of Hwy 17.
Both are small at 0.1 hectares in size and classified as not under control at this time.
Algonquin Park 36 is under control at 0.1 hectares in size and located on Opeongo Lake.
Existing fires
Algonquin Park fire numbers 41 and 42 along with Wawa 40, all confirmed yesterday, are now out.
Crews continue to provide suppression action on fires in the Pembroke and Kemptville areas.
Pembroke 44 is 8.0 hectares in size located near Stones Lake.
That fire is classified as being held and not likely to spread under prevailing and forecasted conditions.
Kemptville 3 is under control at 2.5 hectares in size and located in the Darling Long Lake area.
Nine fires in the Cochrane area continue to be monitored.
Regional fire activity facts:
- There are 16 active fires in the Northeast Region burning a total of 43,261.7 hectares.
- To date, 841 fires in the Northeast Region have burned 52,947.7 hectares.
Fireworks and the Forest Fires Prevention Act
Are you planning on Fireworks over the long weekend? Then you should know:
The Forest Fires Prevention Act addresses fireworks in Section 30.
This section states: “No person who discharges a firearm, flare, fireworks or explosives in or within 300 metres of a forest area shall leave any residue from the discharge unextinguished.”
This means any person who sets off fireworks, is responsible if any hot residue that results in a fire.
Also, there may be municipal by-laws regarding the use of fireworks.
The Ministry of Natural Resources hopes that people will consider:
- During periods of hot dry weather, sparks and embers can start forest fires
- All forest fires are investigated to determine the cause
- A person can be charged under the FFPA and may be held responsible for the cost of putting a forest fire out and associated property damage.
Suggested measures to promote safe use of fireworks (voluntary):
- Attend organized fireworks venues instead of setting off your own
- Choose a fire safe area to ignite the fireworks that is free of flammable materials
- Apply adult supervision
- Launch fireworks over an area free of flammable material i.e. Gravel pit, body of water
- Have fire suppression equipment on hand
- When completed, check the areas for any hot residue and ensure it is put out
Further information is available on safe outdoor fire management at www.ontario.ca/fireprevention.
Fire hazard
The Ministry of Natural Resources advises the public that there are drought conditions throughout the region and extreme caution must be used with any outdoor fires during this Labour Day long weekend.
Under the Forest Fires Prevention Act of Ontario, people must tend their campfire at all times and put it dead out before leaving.
If it is windy, the risk of a wildfire is high. Don't burn.
A reminder that municipalities may have fire bans in place, so please ensure to check with them before doing any outdoor burning.
Ontario Parks may also have their own restrictions in place for each campground.
For information on fire restrictions in parks, please visit here.
To report a forest fire north of the French River, please call 310-FIRE (3473).
In southern regions, forest fires can be reported by calling your local fire department.
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