Madawaska Valley Fire Chief Corwin Quade notified The Current today, May 18, that as of 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday May 19 the municipality is under a Level 1 Fire Ban. Quade said that MV staff is in the process of changing all signs in the municipality to a Level 1 Fire Ban, allowing campfires.
Level 1 Fire Ban explained
The Fire Chief had previously explained the Orange fire rating to The Current as follows. All fire permits are suspended, no new permits will be issued, no brush or grass fires are allowed. Campfires are allowed in fire pits. Charcoal barbecues and fireworks are allowed.
Quade said fire permits are not being issued at this time. Please follow safe practices when having a campfire; burn during the coolest, dampest and calmest time of the day. You should choose a safe site (fire pit), stay in control of your fire, keep the fire small (no larger than 2 feet by 2 feet) and put the fire out completely when you are done.
The Fire Chief explained the reason for the Level 1 Fire Ban is that all the wildfire ratings that are monitored by the MV Fire Dept. are at high to extreme levels at this time. MV Fire Department would like to thank all residents and visitors for their diligence in following the Fire Ban and Fire warnings.
more neighbourly advice from your local “fire nanny” excerpted from the website of the Friends of Algonquin Park but it universally applicable anywhere in the boreal-forest region (which is most of Canada):-
Campfires & Fire Hazard Rating System
Campfires are one of the leading causes of wildfires in Algonquin Park. On average, Algonquin has 14 escaped campfires each year. Campfires can have a serious impact on our park environment – some campsites are destroyed for future use, wildlife habitat is affected, and these wildfires are costly to extinguish. All visitors can help to prevent wildfires.
Campfire Safety
Whether camping in the backcountry or at a campground, only light your campfire when you are ready to use it for cooking or for warmth.
If you start a campfire, you are responsible to keep it under control and make certain it is extinguished completely BEFORE you leave the site.
(1)Use the designated campfire pit
(2)Ensure the campfire pit bottom is non-flammable (bare rock, sand or gravel) material; during dry periods of the summer, any campfires built on “organic” matter can burn deep into the ground, and if not completely extinguished, will resurface as a wildfire hours or days later
(3)Clean the area around your fireplace of needles, wood chips, and paper; clear a space of at least one metre from the outside edges of your campfire
(4)The space above the fire should be at least 3 metres from overhanging branches
(5)If winds are brisk, we recommend no campfire
(6)Build a small fire only; your campfire should not exceed 1 metre in height and 1 metre in diameter
(7)Your campfire must be attended at all times
(8)Have a pot/bucket of water available to extinguish sparks make sure you extinguish your fire completely before you go to bed or leave your campsite; pour in water slowly so that it can soak in; dig into the ashes, and add more water; continue until no steam rises and the coals are cold to the touch
(9)Make sure your campfire is dead out!
(10)Be careful with anything capable of starting a fire.
Btw, another old-time rule of fire-safety:- never leave an open fire unattended in fire season:- a stray spark can easily escalate into a flame and then into a conflagration so a responsible person must always be vigilantly in attendance to promptly intercept and extinguish those stray sparks and flames. In old days everyone knew these basic rules but nowadays many people do not understand how tricky and volatile and unpredictable an open fire can be. Btw, an open candle flame is also an open “fire” so never let them burn unattended. You don’t need to take my word for it, just talk to your insurance agent!
Keep a bucket of water (or a full water hose) and a shovel close to the fire. This is the rule which the old Dept of Lands and Forests had in old days and the fire ranger would be watching for smoke from the old Sherwood Fire Tower on Yantha Mountain off the old Opeongo Trail and they would sometimes send a forest ranger out to check on little fires. There would be the odd small forest fire and they would conscript every unoccupied guy over the age of 15 to help put it out but younger boys would sometimes lie about their age to participate just for the excitement since this whole region was “Sleepy Hollow” plus they would pay the fire “volunteers”. Nowadays MNR patrols with a reconnaissance aircraft and hits forest fires with water-bombers that drop 5+ tons of water on each pass. Btw, you don’t want to be hit with a “splash” of 5+ tons of water because it could kill you:- it’s like being a mosquito being swatted! In late May of 1903 there was a huge forest fire in this region for 2+ weeks which burned off tens of thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of farmsteads and killed hundreds of farm animals and also killed a few people until June rains finally extinguished it. It was biggest news story published by the “Eganville Leader” only a few months after it started publication. You can still find the odd charred stump from that long-ago forest fire.