Volume 55 Number 21
Friday, May 29, 2015
Thompson, Manitoba Providing you with expert advice & friendly service. Book online at speedyglass.ca or try our free app on your iPhone
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Serving the Norman Region since 1961
Woods, water and winter’s remnants
Nickel Belt News photo by Molly Gibson Kirby The view from a Wings Over Kississing airplane over Northern Manitoba May 21 reveals the vastness of the boreal forest and the abundance of water the region can boast of, as well as a little ice that still hadn’t melted.
Fires burning near Cormorant and Sherridon in Manitoba’s northwest BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
Dry windy conditions in northwest Manitoba have resulted in the cancellation of burning permits and the banning of daytime campfi res in several Northern Manitoba provincial parks. All burning permits in the region north of Flin Flon and Sherridon to Grand Rapids in the south from the Saskatchewan border in the west to Highway 6 in the east were cancelled by Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship May 26.
Campfi res are currently banned between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in Bakers Narrows, Wekusko Falls, Grass River and Clearwater Lake provincial parks. A fire between Cormorant Lake and Clearwater Lake northwest of The Pas covers about 150 hectares and is close to roads and the railway. The fire is being fought by water bombers. Another fire is just north of Sherridon, northeast of Flin Flon, and burning approximately 500 hectares. Water bombers were being used on that fi re May 25
and remained on standby to fight the fire as needed. The Sherridon fire damaged an electricity transmission line but Manitoba Hydro expected power to be restored May 26. As of Tuesday morning, there were 14 active fires in the province and six water bombers, 14 helicopters and more than 52 firefi ghters were battling them, while heavy equipment was being used to create firebreaks. So far this year, there have been 114 fi res in the province, including 32 in the northeast re-
gion and seven in the northwest region. Four remained active in the northeast and three in the northwest as of May 26. The northeast region fires have only burned 41 hectares so far, while 637 hectares have been burned in the northwest. Five fires – two in the northeast and three in the northwest – started in the 24hour period prior to May 26 and all were caused by people. Five fi res were extinguished in the northeast region in that same time period. The four fi res burning in the
northeast as of May 26 were under control while two of three in the northwest were out of control. Forty-nine firefighters, three helicopters and two other aircraft were engaged in the northeast region, while 23 firefighters, fi ve helicopters, six water bombers and fi ve other aircraft were in service in the northwest. All but one of the 32 fires in the northeast so far this year were caused by people, while all seven fires so far in the northwest were classified as human-caused.