The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry released the statement below on July 11 2023. For Madawaska Valley residents, this means that small campfires are now allowed but please note that burning permits remain suspended in the municipality.
The Restricted Fire Zone previously in place for the entire Fire Region of Ontario has been lifted, effective Tuesday, July 11, at 4 p.m.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry would like to thank Ontarians and visitors for doing their part to help prevent forest fires and keep communities safe. Please continue to use extreme caution and follow Ontario’s Outdoor Fires Regulations when having an outdoor fire.
Restricted Fire Zone decisions consider a number of factors including daily weather and fire conditions, as well as forecasted weather trends over longer periods of time and potential drying conditions and precipitation. We also consider the number of wildland fires that are burning, and the number of resources required to manage both current and potential wildland fires.
Lifting the RFZ does not mean we can let our guard down when it comes to preventing human-caused fires. We all need to remain vigilant and keep safety top of mind when having outdoor fires.
Despite some rain or showers in parts of Ontario, some areas remain dry. It is important to remember that the overall fire danger can change rapidly based on the daily weather resulting in low to moderate fire danger one day, followed by high to extreme hazard the next 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 province will continue to assess forest fire hazard conditions and an RFZ designation may be reinstated in higher risk areas if the fire hazard and fire activity warrants.
A MNRF Restricted Fire Zone and a municipal fire ban can be in place at the same time, or separately. It is important that the public check with their local municipality as they may have local fire bans or fire restrictions in place.
Stay alert and be informed of the fire hazard near you on the public forest fire information map at Ontario.ca/forestfire. You can also follow us on Twitter: @ONforestfires for up-to-date information on the fire situation.
Retrieved from: https://www.ontario.ca/page/forest-fires#section-2