East & West Region Forest Fire Situation Update
West Fire Region
Sunday, July 18, 2010
There were no new fires in the region for the third second day in a row. The forest fire hazard is low to moderate across the northwestern Ontario.
On July 3rd, Kip Miller, a Fire Operations Supervisor from the Thunder Bay Fire Management Headquarters, had the pleasure of presenting the Saganaga Ontario Association of Resort and Property Owners (SOARPO) with a Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact award. The group has been recognized for leadership in promoting wildfire prevention as well as developing and implementing fire safety initiatives into FireSmart community planning.
Saganaga Lake is located along the Ontario and Minnesota border, approximately 100 kilometres southwest of Thunder Bay.The SOARPO association represents the owners of 59 developed properties situated on the islands and lakeshore of Saganaga Lake.
In the aftermath of a large fire that occurred along the Ontario/Minnesota border in 2007, members of SOARPO approached the Thunder Bay Fire Management Headquarters for ideas on how to protect their properties from the threat of wildfire.
SOARPO has established important relationships with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department, the Cook County Sheriff’s Department and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
As result of the association’s successful campaign to promote fire safety amongst its members, Saganaga Lake property owners have taken a keen interest in community fire prevention and education, and have implemented a variety of measures to protect their homes and values from damage and destruction due to forest fires.
Some of the fire prevention initiatives that SOARPO has been involved in include: initiating FireSmart concepts such as homeowner site hazard assessments; using a global positioning system to map structural values; distributing fire number signs; establishing a sprinkler brigade that will follow incident command procedures; purchasing an emergency radio that can be used to communicate on Minnesota Department of Natural Resources frequencies, and installing several values protection sprinkler systems throughout the community.
Efforts are ongoing to have all property owners in the community complete a home and hazard assessment for their properties, to increase awareness of fire hazards and reduce the overall risk of wildfire.
Kip Miller, Fire Operations Supervisor from Thunder Bay Fire Management Headquarters presents a Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact award to Dave Seglem, past president of the Saganaga Ontario Association of Resort and Property Owners for the association's outstanding work in fire prevention and promoting the FireSmart program.
Be FireSmart, visit www.ontario.ca/fireprevention for more information on how to prevent forest fires.
310-FIRE (3473) is the toll-free emergency forest fire reporting phone number across northern Ontario. The number will operate north of the French and Mattawa Rivers.
East Fire Region
July 18, 2010
There were no new fires were found on July 17. So far there have been two new fires confirmed for today, July 18. Timmins 37 was a 0.1 hectare fire found on Mesomikenda Lake, and Sudbury 126 was a 0.1 hectare fire found in Killarney Provincial Park. Both of these fires were a result of un-extinguished camp fires, and both have been called out.
Campfires should be completely extinguished before leaving and residents, such as berry pickers or campers, who spend time in forested areas should exercise care and caution in order to prevent needless forest fires.
Residents are reminded that if found responsible for a forest fire, they can be charged under the Forest Fires Prevention Act and/or be liable for the costs of suppressing the fire. This cost can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
To view the current forest fire hazard in your area, click here to view the Fire Danger Map.
Be FireSmart, visit www.ontario.ca/fireprevention for more information on how to prevent forest fires.
310-FIRE (3473) is the new, toll-free emergency forest fire reporting phone number across northern Ontario. The number will operate north of the French and Mattawa Rivers.
