Ontario firefighters go west

NEWS RELEASE

MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES

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Forest fire situation update - Northeast Region: September 24, 2012 (3:30 p.m. EDT)
 
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources personnel to assist with Alberta fire hazard
 
While the fire hazard has diminished greatly in Ontario, other Canadian provinces are still receiving hot weather that is driving up the fire danger.

Thirty-three personnel from Ontario departed for Alberta on Monday, September 24 to assist with the fire hazard in that province.

The personnel package includes 20 FireRangers, 12 incident commanders and one agency representative.
 
There is also a four-person FireRanger crew from Ontario working in Minnesota at this time.
 
New fires
 
No new fires were confirmed by the time this report was issued today.
 
Cloud cover remains steady in the region with showers lingering in some areas and cool damp weather is expected for the next couple of days. 

These conditions are expected to keep fire activity to a minimum.
 
Existing fires
 
Management and suppression of all existing fires is ongoing.
 
Five fires in the Cochrane area continue to be observed and are not receiving suppression action due to agency resource management objectives and/or priorities.
 
Regional fire activity facts
 
There are now nine active fires in the Northeast Region burning a total of 42,457.1 hectares.

To date, 941 fires in the Northeast Region have burned 53,913.4 hectares.
 
Fire hazard

There are currently no Restricted Fire Zones in place.
 
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.
 
For more information about the current fire situation, visit here.

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