MNR and city fire crews have been pretty comfortable in the North Bay area this spring.
The cool conditions and wet weather has allowed the greening process to move forward and the moisture has kept grass fires to a minimum.
However, with a potentially dry summer courtesy of an El Nino, residents are still reminded to be cautious when making an outdoor fire. First off, a municipal by-law only allows those residents in rural areas of the North Bay area to acquire a burning permit.
Randy Vezina, a North Bay Fire Prevention Officer, says If the Ministry of Natural Resources or fire chief calls for a no burn due to the dryness of the conditions, that means everyone has to stop burning; permit or no permit.
Vezina adds that anyone making outdoor fires needs to be cautious.
“Don’t light a bunch of organic material and then go and do something inside the home, have a water supply that is nearby and have some tools that would allow you to put the fire out right away,” stated Vezina.
“If we leave a fire unattended we could allow it to migrate into the bush and when it gets into the bush it can be very, very difficult to put out. It’s not like we can drive a truck right up to these fires and hit it with the hose.”
He says if a fire does start from an outdoor man-made fire, that person could be left on the hook for paying for the fire to be put out; and that bill could be hundreds of dollars.
“If they are the cause of a fire in the bush and resources are committed for an extended period of time, then there is a possibility that they could receive a bill through the by-law, there’s no prosecution involved, it’s a by-law that’s in effect now and allows those charges back to the property owner,” said Vezina.
