Dry conditions make Manitoba hot spot for wildfires

Experts warn Manitoba’s incoming wildfire season could be worse than last year.

There have been 37 fires across the province this year, with 12 active fires, and four with crews currently on site. Despite some recent rain, the overall dry conditions have “set the province up” for an active wildfire season, said Natalie Hasell of Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“Now that we’re getting into thunderstorm season, sparks hitting spots that are dry, that then don’t get showered on, will also be a problem,” she said Thursday.

“It could actually be worse this season for Manitoba than it was last year.”

Temperatures reach close to 30 C this weekend in parts of the province, and it’s expected to remain dry.

“If there’s any wind, if we do have a fire, it could spread pretty easily, so that, too, is of concern.”

Earl Simmons, the acting director of Manitoba Wildfire Service, said hiring and training over the winter has staffed 41 initial attack crews ready for what he’s expecting will be a “busy” wildfire season.

“The rivers are down, the lakes are down, the swamps are down, the moisture in the ground, it still hasn’t been recharged. So it is concerning,” he said.

“We’re going to do the best that we can by planning, moving equipment, aircraft and people into areas based on the fire indices and catching fires when they’re small before they get big.”

As the dry weather is forecast to continue, Simmons asked who spots a wildfire to report it to the province’s tip line at 1-800-782-0076.

“We rely on tips from the public, whether they’re out driving in cottage country, or they happen to be flying in a float plane somewhere, we get all kinds of good information from the public,” he said.

In Transcona, two “significant” vegetation fires have broken out over the last two weeks. The first, on April 25 in the Transcona Bioreserve Loop, was about the size of a football field. The second broke out nearby, near Day Street and Gunn Road, Wednesday, stopping rail traffic. The fire was about the size of three football fields before it was declared under control by the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

The cause of both fires has not been determined.

The WFPS keeps an eye on several Winnipeg spots with large fields of dry grass or vegetation — the McGillivray area and along south Transcona, for example — where larger fires are more likely to occur.

“The increasing number of wildfires and poor air quality from wildfire smoke we’re seeing is concerning.”– Mike Olczyk, Winnipeg’s emergency management co-ordinator

“But there’s pockets all around the city that we are aware of, and are typically the ones we go to for the more significant grassland or brush fires,” WFPS deputy chief Scott Wilkinson said.

The city’s density prevents some of the range and size of fires seen in other parts of the province, but they do happen and they can be serious, Wilkinson said.

“We’re pretty much prepared for anything,” he said. “Obviously, if the volume and frequency (of fires) is up, our biggest concern is the prevention messaging, and then making sure that our crews are getting the rest that they need in between these fires. It’s something we’re continually monitoring.”

Preventative tactics are key, he said, including removing leaves, brush and other combustible debris from roofs, gutters, and under decks and porches, safely disposing of cigarettes and other smoking materials, being mindful of where you light fires and fireworks, and staying on trail paths when operating ATVs.

The City of Winnipeg’s emergency social services team held a day-long exercise to simulate the response to a poor air quality emergency April 30.

The Canadian Red Cross and several other partner agencies set up a mock clean air centre at Sergeant Tommy Prince Place, which would offer residents a safe place to go if poor air quality affected the city.

“The increasing number of wildfires and poor air quality from wildfire smoke we’re seeing is concerning, and we need to be prepared in the event poor air quality affects Winnipeg,” Mike Olczyk, the city’s emergency management co-ordinator, said in a news release.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca