With warmer temperatures and the disappearance of snow, wildfire season has once again arrived in most of Canada. Natural Resources Canada has projected that the 2020 wildfire season is going to be an above average year from northwestern Ontario to British Columbia. This projection is based on models that consider weather predictions for the year. What this means is that there will likely be more wildfires this year in Canada. How are Wildfires Predicted? Weather is one of the most significant factors for predicting whether fires will occur. Weather patterns also tell us what wildfire behaviou ..read more

The world of emergency management is changing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and wildfire management is not immune. As wildfire season approaches, news articles are beginning to cover the challenges that wildfire management and suppression agencies must navigate in a wildfire-pandemic emergency scenario; firefighters cannot effectively physically distance while in fire-camps or working  along fire lines and the mobility of wildland firefighters, though an asset in wildfire suppression, now makes them prime vectors of disease transmission. However, it is First Nations communities ..read more

The spring fire season is in full swing in Manitoba and Ontario. Drought conditions and high winds have combined to create extreme fire danger, and numerous fires have been burning across the two provinces for the past month. Burn bans are in effect in Manitoba, and Northwestern Ontario currently has a fire ban in provincial parks. Despite these efforts, the fires that have been burning are human-caused. Spring is typically grass fire season. As the snow recedes, the ground dries out and fine fuels such as cured grass and dead leaves become easy to ignite. The leaves have not yet emerged on de ..read more

The early heat and dry weather conditions of spring 2018 resulted in numerous wildfires burning through southern Manitoba. After the wildfire flap in the southeastern corner of Manitoba, the owners of Falcon Trails Resort decided that it was time to start preparing for wildfire. In 2016 and 2018, wildfires started north of Falcon Lake, near Caddy and Westhawk Lake, which caused the evacuation of homes and cottages in the area. Many homes and cottages were threatened by these wildfires and it was only by the timely installation of sprinklers by firefighters and favourable weather conditions th ..read more

“The bottom line is that we can do something. It just doesn’t have anything to do with controlling the wildfire.” - Jack Cohen Jack Cohen is an American wildfire scientist who was recently featured on 99% Invisible, a podcast “about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world.” The latest episodes of 99% Invisible, Built to Burn and Fire and Rain  are about the history, research, and design solutions around protecting homes from wildfire. The th ..read more

There is an increasing risk of lightning-caused wildfires in southeastern Manitoba. Recently, lightning storms have passed through southeastern Manitoba. Some areas did receive rain, but showers were scattered and precipitation amounts varied. Combined with a period of dry weather before the storms, some areas of Manitoba have a risk of lightning-caused wildfires. The map below and to the left shows where lighting strikes were recorded between 1200 noon and midnight on July 19th. The map to the right shows weather station precipitation readings. In areas such as Whiteshell Provincial Park, the ..read more

Over the weekend, southern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario were blanketed in wildfire smoke. I happened to be in Lac du Bonnet over the weekend and the smoke was so thick that the other side of the lake had disappeared behind an impenetrable haze. This smoke is coming from wildfires that are burning in Manitoba on the east side of Lake Winnipeg and across the border in northwestern Ontario. The map below is taken from the MODIS satellite, which detects hotspots created by wildfire. The yellow points on the map are hotspots that have been detected since the start of the fire season. Orange i ..read more

It was a hot and dry Canada Day weekend in Manitoba and fireworks were not the only light show on display. Lightning systems passed through Manitoba with very little accompanying rain. This means that conditions were ideal for lightning caused wildfire ignition and that’s exactly what happened. At least 18 new wildfires started over the weekend, bringing the yearly wildfire total for Manitoba up to 159. The majority of the new fires are located in eastern Manitoba in the forests north of Bissett. The areas east of Lake Wi ..read more

Six new fires were detected on July 14th, burning on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. They are currently being actioned by the Manitoba Fire Program. At the time this article was written, Fire sizes range from 0.1 hectares to 140 hectares. Five of these fires were lightning-caused and are burning north of Bisset, while one fire is human-caused and burning near Little Black River First Nation. Fire danger is high in this region and with strong winds, wildfire has a high rate of spread.  Subscribe Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. Email Address ..read more

On May 20, a wildfire was burning about 700m north of Falcon Beach Ranch, near Falcon Lake, Manitoba. Fortunately the 1.8 ha forest fire was contained through the quick response by the Whiteshell Fire Department, the Falcon Parks crew, initial attack crews and the use of water bombers. A few key observations from this wildfire: Warm and dry weather in Manitoba and Northern Ontario have made conditions prime for wildfires. It is everyone’s responsibility to prevent human-caused forest fires, like this one, by following burn ban restrictions and being mindful of fire ignition hazards (i.e. ATVs ..read more