DRYDEN — The Ministry of Natural Resources has lifted all fire bans on Crown land and unincorporated rural townships that were in effect across Northwestern Ontario.
In a media release issued Friday morning, the ministry said the previously-implemented restricted fire zones were revoked as of 12:01 a.m. Friday.
The province’s interactive fire map shows the forest fire risk has dropped to between moderate and high across the Northwest, with no areas of extreme danger.
Despite this, the ministry was continuing to urge caution.
Lifting the (restricted fire zone) does not mean we can let our guard down when it comes to preventing human-caused fires,” the ministry’s media release said. “We all need to remain vigilant and keep safety top of mind when having outdoor fires.”
“It is important to remember that the overall fire danger can change rapidly based on the daily weather resulting in low to moderate fire hazard one day, followed by high to extreme the next,” officials continued.
That, they said, is “simply based on the surface forest fuels drying out quickly, leading to fires starting easily and higher rates of fire spread under the right burning conditions.”
The fire service's Thursday evening forest fire update counted 21 active wildfires in the Northwest.
Wildland fire officials said they consider factors like daily weather, fire and forest conditions, forecasted weather, the number of fires burning and how many resources are required to manage current and potential future blazes when determining whether to implement or revoke a fire ban.
Future fire bans could be back in place depending on how conditions change, the ministry said.
Incorporated municipalities can implement and revoke their own fire bans. Wildfire officials urged people to check with their local governments in those cases.
Communities like Kenora, Fort Frances, Rainy River and Atikokan published notifications Friday morning that they were lifting their restrictions in accordance with the MNR. Dryden fire chief Chris Wood told Newswatch his community's ban was being lifted. Ignace's municipal website still had a notice in place as of Friday morning, but stated there was to be no burning within the township while the MNR's restriction was in place. That notice was no longer active Friday afternoon.
-This story was updated to include information from several area municipalities. It was further updated with confirmation from Dryden fire chief Chris Wood.
