Early start to forest fire season sparks extreme season ahead, researcher says

Superior Morning7:13Bill deGroot - Forest Fire Management

Bill deGroot says everything has changed when it comes to forest fire management. He is a research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service.

As fire fighters scramble to stay ahead of forest fires burning west of Kenora and north of Red Lake, others are planning longer term strategies to address climate change in the boreal.

Bill de Groot, a research scientist with the Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, said climate change is gradually increasing the duration of forest fire season in Ontario and we're likely to see more extreme conditions that make fighting fires even more challenging.

"The critical period [is] between when we detect the fire and when we initially attack it," de Groot said.

"If we don't get there in time, there's a possibility it just runs and does what it wants and we're not going to be able to stop it."

The boreal forest is "built to burn," he noted and we may need to live with letting more fires burn to create gaps in the forest, which will act as fire breaks.

Dead wood, dry season

Meanwhile, a professor at Lakehead University says the Sibley Peninsula is a forest fire hazard.

Jian Wang, who teaches in the faculty of natural resources management, said there is plenty of dead wood and decay in the Sleeping Giant park.

And in a dry season like this one, a single spark could start a big fire. But Wang says there are no easy solutions.

"Because it's a park, people don't want to harvest it, don't want to clean up all the dead fuel. That's very expensive, who's going to pay that?"

Wang told CBC News the best way to prevent forest fires is through good forest management practices.

City wide fire ban

The Ministry of Natural Resources says most of northwestern Ontario remains a restricted fire zone due to the dry conditions.

And in Thunder Bay, despite some recent rain, a city-wide fire ban remains in effect because ofthe continuing dryness.

Thunder Bay Fire Chief John Hay said that, during the ban, all fire permits are suspended, and open fires not allowed.

"We'll assess every day and every evening and, when it's possible to release the fire permits again, we will," he said.

So far, Hay added, there have not been any issues reported, and Thunder Bay residents have co-operated with the fire ban.