Fire restrictions for Spruce Woods start Friday

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Fire bans and travel restrictions will be in effect for Spruce Woods Provincial Park starting Friday due to dry and windy conditions, with a five-day forecast for Westman that is promising more of the same.

The Manitoba Wildfire Service put the restrictions in place for Spruce Woods and Whiteshell provincial parks while declaring “high fire danger” in the southeast and Interlake regions of the province.

The Level 1 fire and travel restrictions go into effect 8 a.m. on Friday, prohibiting all fires between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Any fires outside of those hours must be in an approved campfire pit.

Additionally, all motorized backcountry travel is banned during those hours, including ATVs and other off-road vehicles.

Anyone who needs to use a motorized vehicle to access a remote cottage on a forestry road will need a travel permit issued by the province.

The ban will remain in effect until “sufficient” foliage appears, the wildfire service said in a news release.

Failure to comply with the listed restrictions may result in prosecution under the Manitoba Wildfires Act, with fines of up to $100,000 depending on the severity of the offence.

Putting restrictions in place is the result of a “very detailed process,” with input from forecasters and the people on the ground from all regions, a provincial spokesperson told the Sun.

“Fires at this time of year can be more difficult to fight, with significantly fewer areas to pull water from. Restrictions are issued in order to lower the risk of grass fires or wildfires starting and always try to balance people’s access to recreation opportunities against the risk of a dangerous wildfire,” the spokesperson said.

The dry conditions, coupled with wind gusts of up to 45 kilometres an hour, sparked a grass fire in Brandon on Wednesday.

Just after 11:30 a.m., Brandon Fire and Emergency Services responded to the fire on the corner of First Street and Veterans Way after someone called 911, BFES deputy fire chief Kevin Garrioch told the Sun.

“It was approximately a two-acre fire, and we responded with six firefighters, a brush truck, a tanker and a utility terrain vehicle,” Garrioch said.

“The tanker is too big to drive in the field, so it stays on the road. The brush truck and the UTV can go a little bit more off road, and they come back to the tanker to refill.”

The tanker carries 2,700 gallons of water, while the brush truck has the capacity for 350 gallons. There are 80 gallons in the UTV.

By 1 p.m., the fire was out, said Garrioch, adding that the lieutenant on shift reported there were no challenges with fighting it, and was the one who did “a walk around” to ensure it was completely out.

“This is at least the second or third grass fire that we’ve responded to,” Garrioch said. “We had a few before that little cold snap and now they started up again.

“Grass fires are different from an interior fire … There’s different challenges and risks that have to be taken seriously because the weather is a greater factor,” he said.

The average daytime high for this time of year is 16 C. Temperatures are forecast to hit 10 degrees above seasonal norms with a high of 27 C for Brandon on Sunday and no measurable precipitation in the forecast until next week, said Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Justin Shelley.

Westman is coming off a relatively dry April, with Brandon receiving less than half the precipitation it usually does.

“These are numbers that were done on April 24, and we were looking at most areas in Manitoba somewhere between 10 and 40 per cent of normal precipitation for the month of April,” said Shelley.

“Brandon was at about 43 per cent of normal, so in that regard, things certainly have been on the drier side,” he said.

A weather pattern called a ridge of high pressure is about to move into Manitoba, which will fend off cloud cover and keep the temperatures above average.

Shelley said he is tracking a cold front that could swing through the southwestern part of the province late Sunday or early Monday. The clash between the two air masses could create isolated showers.

“That cold front feature would drop temperatures a bit, and we will see some precipitation. There’s still a bit of discrepancy in terms of the exact placement, but if things line up, portions of central and southern Manitoba could see five to 10 millimetres of rainfall, maybe a bit higher locally,” he said.

“There might also be some convective activity associated with that,” he added. “So, a chance of some isolated thunderstorms Sunday night into Monday across the southern part of the province.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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