Soggy month has reduced fire threat in southeast

What a difference a year makes. 

Firefighters in southeastern Manitoba have welcomed all of the rain in recent weeks. As a result, the fire threat today is much different than it was a few weeks ago, and certainly different than it was at this time last year.

In late May of 2023, Manitoba Wildfire Service implemented Level 1 Fire and Travel restrictions because of the elevated fire danger from how dry it was. As a result, motorized backcountry travel was prohibited during daytime hours, while provincial burn permits were cancelled. 

Here we are, 12 months later, and JC Normandeau, Deputy Fire Chief for La Broquerie says the recent soggy conditions have definitely downgraded the fire threat in their municipality. Normandeau says the situation today is much different than it was just a few weeks ago.

"We started off in spring, it was going to be a bad one," he says. "But fortunately, we got a lot of moisture, and everything has turned very green out there right now. So, we're sitting in a very good position right now."

Normandeau says the lack of snow in their municipality this last winter meant the land was prone to grass fires in spring. He adds they did have a few close calls.

"But luckily we got a lot of moisture this spring," he says. "The fire threat has gone down significantly with all the rains we got."

Normandeau says when we have a very dry spring and crews are called out continuously to grass, brush, or forest fires, it ends up being very taxing on their department. He notes their firefighters get tired very quickly from chasing fires on evenings and weekends. 

And, Normandeau says what can add to their busyness is the mutual aid calls and the work they do with the province. Normandeau says they definitely help out fire departments in Reynolds and Piney when forest fires ignite. They also work with Manitoba Conservation to protect the Wildlife Management area that exists in the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie. 

Meanwhile, Martin Van Osch is Chair of the Protective Services Committee for the RM of Piney. He says because of the very dry winter that we had, there was some anxiety in the municipality for the spring fire season. However, due to all of the rain in recent weeks, Van Osch says it has turned into just a normal spring for grassland and brush fires. 

"Now that we're well into green-up, our risk has definitely significantly decreased," he says. "And the rainfall that we've received, and the high moisture certainly has helped."

Van Osch explains that Piney is a heavily forested municipality that predominantly contains coniferous trees. He notes if they would get three weeks of high heat and low humidity, the situation could change dramatically and there would once again be a risk of wildland fires. Van Osch says after green-up, the risk is reduced because the deciduous trees have leaves on their branches, which tends to keep the humidity down at the ground. 

"But within the coniferous area, we still have some risk if we see high, drying temperatures, windy conditions, we will run some risk at that point," he adds. 

Similar to what Normandeau says, Van Osch notes that a busy spring for fighting fires can be exhausting on his crews. He notes that some of the large forest fires or wildland fires in recent years have kept firefighters busy seven days a week. Van Osch says in those situations it is not uncommon for their tanker to be providing water service for both the local fire department as well as the Province of Manitoba. He adds these volunteer firefighters also have their regular jobs and families to take care of. 

"They truly deserve all of the credit because they are the ones that are putting the time in to keep neighbours, friends, and family safe," adds Van Osch. "They are also very rewarding when they see that they have kept their community safe."

Even though the fire threat is low, Van Osch stresses the importance of fire safety. He notes anyone who deliberately starts a fire must be sure it is kept under control. And, if you are visiting the RM of Piney to pick berries or enjoy the many trails, he reminds people to make sure they park their vehicle in an area that does not have long-standing grass.