Fairytale Forest - Sunburst

There’s only been three forest fires to date in the North Bay District, burning 14.5 hectares of land.

According to our records, around this time last year (June 24th) there had been six forest fires locally.  The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry reports there’s been just over 200 fires across the province this season, which is about 100 fewer than the 10 year average.

Northeast Region Information Officer Shayne McCool says the amount of fire starts is typically related to the weather. He says the more they see rainy days and high relative humidity, they don’t see as many fire starts.

McCool says when we do get the nice, sunny weather for several days in a row, they can see fire starts and fire behaviour pick-up.

Meantime, he says on top of training, crews help out in other jurisdictions, when they aren’t fighting fires here in Ontario. McCool points out there’s 138 personnel helping out in Alberta.

One 4-person crew from North Bay is due to arrive back on Thursday. They’ve been helping battle a wild fire near Lac La Biche, Alberta.

For tips on how to be FireSmart, visit: ontario.ca/firesmart