Eight new forest fires in the Sault, five in Wawa

FIRE UPDATE

ONTARIO MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES

******************** East Fire Region Situation Update

Wednesday, July 19, 2006 – 12:00

HIGHLIGHTS:

• 20 new forest fires yesterday

DETAILS:

There were 20 new forest fires yesterday in the following areas: eight in Sault Ste. Marie, five in Wawa, three in Sudbury, two in Parry Sound and one each in Cochrane and Timmins.

There are currently 27 active forest fires in the Cochrane, Parry Sound, Algonquin Park, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Timmins and Wawa areas.

No problems are anticipated with these fires at this time.

As of April 1st 2006, there have been 295 forest fires in the East Fire Region.

15 Ontario FireRanger crews and various overhead staff that were deployed to British Columbia will be returning this evening.

There are currently 15 FireRanger crews from the East Fire Region in the West Fire Region assisting with their escalated fire situation.

As a result of a major wind storm that passed through parts of eastern Ontario this past Monday, many communities were affected by damaging winds.

The Ministry of Natural Resources would like to remind public, especially in those areas, that before burning any debris from the major storm event check with your municipality to be advised of their burning regulations.

Please use extreme care and caution with outdoor fires.

Never leave your fire unattended and make sure it is completely extinguished before leaving.

By eliminating human caused fires that result from carelessness the Ministry of Natural Resources can focus its resources on responding to new lightning caused forest fires.

To report a Forest Fire in the East Fire Region please call 1-888-863-FIRE (3473).

*********************