The forest fire hazard heading into this final weekend of July is high to extreme, mainly due to windy conditions across Northeastern Ontario.
“We are anticipating some precipitation to enter into the northeastern region potentially this evening and into tomorrow, which would reduce the fire hazard,” says MNRF forest fire information officer Shane McCool.
The ministry assesses the forest fire hazard every day.
There are nine active forest fires burning in the region. McCool says two are classified as “being observed for ecological benefit,” meaning allowed to burn without human intervention.
“Fire is a natural part of our ecosystem,” he explains, “so when we have an opportunity to allow that natural process to occur, we will allow that, as long as there’s no people or infrastructure that could be impacted by that fire.”
There were actually nine new fires that started yesterday. McCool says most of them were small, caused by lightning, and quickly put out.