Rain brings relief as fires continue to burn across region

Recent rain in the north has brought a temporary break for firefighters.

There are still 97 active fires in the Northwest region, but Ministry of Natural Resources fire information officer Deb MacLean said the fire situation in the north has settled.

“Along with that rain came some lightning strikes. That may translate into new fires down the road, but for now the weather has moderated somewhat, particularly in the north,” she said.

The break in the weather has allowed fire crews to entrench the work they’ve done, said MacLean, noting they’ve been able to consolidate fire lines and concentrate on difficult portions of fires.

“The weather is allowing us to do that because the fire activity on these fires is not as extreme,” she said. “It’s quiet, smoldering, creeping as opposed to up and running in the crowns of trees and torching like it was before.”

However, with long-term forecasts calling for bright, sunny weather in the coming weeks, the fight isn’t over.

“With over 100 active fires, that is going to take a long time to put out,” MacLean said. “That’s definitely going to be an ongoing workload.”

“The weather forecast looks promising if it comes true,” she added. “If we get rain, that’s going to be additional relief. If we don’t get as much rain or if we only get scattered rain, you’re going to see the hazard climb again.”