Many new area fires believed to be human caused
Friday, August 31, 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.
Bancroft fire numbers 51 and 52 were both small at 0.1 hectares and are both out.
Kirkland Lake 25 is an island fire in Sesekinika Lake that is under control at 0.1 hectares.
At the time of this report only one new fire was confirmed in the region today in the Kirkland Lake area.
Located south of Twitchgrass Lake, Kirkland Lake 26 is 0.1 hectares in size and under control.
Many of this week’s new fires are believed to be human caused.
Existing fires
A number of fires were called out the Kemptville, Wawa and Sudbury areas.
Kemptville 3, 2.5 hectares in size and located in the Darling Long Lake area, and Sudbury 188, near Worthington, were called out.
Wawa fire numbers 40, 41 and 42 – all small at 0.1 hectares – were also called out.
Pembroke 44 is now classified as under control.
It is 8.0 hectares in size located near Stones Lake.
Regional fire activity facts:
- There are 14 active fires in the Northeast Region burning a total of 43,258.9 hectares.
- To date, 851 fires in the Northeast Region have burned 52,949.2 hectares.
Everyone has a responsibility to prevent forest fires!
Many of this week’s new fires were caused by people and the Ministry of Natural Resources would like to remind the public of their responsibilities under the Forest Fires Prevention Act (FFPA) of Ontario.
People will be out this weekend pursuing recreational activities and cleaning up cottages and rural residences, which may include outdoor fires.
There are drought conditions throughout the region and extreme caution must be used with all outdoor burning.
Under the FFPA the only materials that can be burned without a fire permit are grass, wood, brush or wood by-products and people must tend their fires at all times making sure to put them out dead out before leaving.
If it is windy, the risk of a wildfire is high – don’t burn!
If a forest fire results because you have used fire improperly, you could be held responsible for the costs of putting out the fire and for any property damage that occurs.
Further information is available on safe outdoor fire management at here.
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.
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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