2 days ago
Much of eastern Ontario under fire bans
In his five years leading South Frontenac Fire and Rescue, Chief Delbert Blakney has never seen things this bad.
"All our fire indices are in the extreme, so we're at a very high risk of fire, and in the last two weeks we've had 14 wildfires we've attended," he said.
His crews are tired. They've battled fires on islands, caused by campfire embers. They've battled them in roadside ditches, sparked by a discarded cigarette.
On Sunday, they fought three fires in one day.
"We had a fire caused from farm equipment," he said. "It started a field on fire, spread into forested areas and we ended up with a 20-acre fire."
It's little surprise that his municipality north of Kingston is under a fire ban. It enacted one on Aug. 1, banning fireworks, campfires and cooking fires. Only cooking appliances with a mechanical shut-off are permitted, such as propane stoves.
As hot, dry conditions blanket much of eastern Ontario, other communities are following suit. Ottawa imposed a fire ban on Aug. 6 and the National Capital Commission did so for Gatineau and Lac Leamy parks on Monday.
Ottawa Fire Services sector chief Marc Lalonde, who manages the east rural sector, said the only fires that have broken out within city limits recently have been relatively minor — but the risk is significant.
"Right now we have a complete fire ban, so no open air fires whatsoever. No campfires, no cooking fires that are not in a self-contained elevated device, such as a barbecue," he said.
"Barbecues are legal, but other than that it is a full fire ban."
Carleton Place is also under a fire ban. So are Clarence-Rockland, North Grenville, McNab/Braeside, Lanark Highlands and several other rural eastern Ontario municipalities. There are fire limits across western Quebec, where the forest fire risk is seen as high to extreme.
Mississippi Mills, which includes Almonte, enacted a ban on Friday. Fire Chief Mike Williams said it's the first time in years.
"This is a very serious situation," he said. "We haven't had these dry conditions in a very long time."
Williams is worried that what South Frontenac is seeing could come to his community. So far, fortunately, no fires have gotten out of control, but he's worried about what lies ahead.
"It's not a very positive outlook," he said. "We look like we're getting a little bit of rain, potentially on Wednesday, and with a little bit of rain on Saturday, Sunday. But with that, it could bring lightning, and that's another hazard for us in these dry conditions without enough moisture in the air."
The Mississippi Mills fire ban prohibits open air burning of all kinds, including campfires and fireworks.
