The Province has announced that the Restricted Fire Zone will be lifted at midnight tonight (Friday, May 15th).
Despite the lift, residents are being reminded to use extreme caution while burning.
The province will continue to assess forest fire hazard conditions and an RFZ designation may be reinstated in higher risk areas if conditions deteriorate. These restrictions are put in place in order to reduce the number of preventable human-caused fires and lower the risk of wildfires impacting the public.
To help stop the spread of COVID-19 fire rangers will be required to follow the health and safety guidelines recommended by the Chief Medical Officer of Health, such as physical distancing, frequent hand washing, and daily self-assessments by staff.
“This is an extraordinary period. As we put measures in place to protect our staff and the public from the pandemic, we have been taking additional steps to prepare for the wildland fire season,” said John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. “Nothing is more important than protecting the safety of people and communities across the province. Although we want people to enjoy themselves, lifting the Restricted Fire Zone designation does not mean we can let our guard down when it comes to preventing human-caused forest fires.”
In Muskoka, the Muskoka Fire Chiefs were quick to respond by lifting their fire ban that had been in place.
The Fire Rating in Muskoka is now set at Moderate.
Small fires are permitted in most rural areas of Muskoka keeping in mind that NO DAYTIME BURNING is allowed.
You must have adequate tools and water to extinguish the fire if the need arises and you must be with your fire at all times.
Consult with your local By-law Dept. for outdoor burning regulations in your municipality.
Effective at midnight open air burning returns to being regulated by local By-law Divisions.
Residents are reminded that the local open air burning by-law prohibits daytime burning and places restrictions on the size and conditions that accompany open air burning.
Please refer to your Town’s Open Air Burning By-law Online. (In this example, Gravenhurst’s)