Forest fire season gets fast start
Forest fire season gets fast start
18 April 2005
published by nb.cbc.ca
CBC News
FREDERICTON Firefighters in New Brunswick say the forest fire season is off to a roaring start, with fires reported in every region of the province.
Fire expert Tim Greer in the Department of Natural Resources says there were 36 fires on the weekend, destroying about 90 hectares of forest.
The average number at the start of the season is just eight fires.
Greer says all of the fires had something in common they were all the result of human carelessness.
“We haven’t had any lightening in the province. All the fires have been started by people.”
Greer says the early spring is the worst time of year for forest fires.
Sunny skies and unusually high temperatures have melted the remaining snow in the woods and the forest floor is covered in dried grass and other plants from last year.
It doesn’t take much to set off a big fire.
Anyone who burns anything outdoors at this time of year is supposed to get a permit from the Department of Natural Resources.
People who plan on setting grass fires are required to do more than that.
They have to submit a “burning plan” to the department and undergo an on-site inspection before any burning takes place.
However, as municipal fire departments across the province discovered on the weekend, many of the people who lit grass fires didn’t take that precaution and the fires they started spread into woodedareas.
Source: http://nb.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nb-fires20050418
