Morden Fire & Rescue Chief Andy Thiessen is urging city and R.M. of Stanley Ward 2 residents to heed the total fire ban in place. The ban has been in effect since May 5th. The current conditions being hot, dry and windy could lead to a very serious situation developing if someone chooses to burn.
"Morden Fire & Rescue's response area for the R.M. is from Road 25 West all the way to Road 36 West, including the City of Morden, and we are in a complete, no fire burn ban at the present time," he stressed. "That's due to weather conditions, soil conditions, wind and all those kinds of things are taken into consideration. (The total fire ban) will be in place now until weather conditions change."
Wildfires can quickly get out of control
At the time this story was written (Tuesday morning), Thiessen had just received a request for resources and firefighters to assist with wildfire fighting in the Sandilands and Whiteshell area, with a commitment of five days.
"It's not something we can take lightly," noted Thiessen. "I know we think we're in agricultural land where things are black and not that big of a deal, but it is a big deal. It can get out of hand so quickly, and there's residences in amongst all the trees and terrain. It's something we have to take very seriously."
Even with the weather expected to turn cooler and wetter this May Long, Thiessen stresses the ban will remain in place until the data used to determine the fire danger level indicates it can be lifted.
"We depend on the reports we get from weather stations around the province to give us the data to either call off a burn ban or to relax on it, and until we get those numbers the fire ban will continue to be in place until there's a correction in those findings."
Rain is in the forecast for Thursday night through Saturday.
A thank you to the community
"Our local people around here have been very, very good," he said regarding residents' adherence to the total fire ban. "There's some that have phoned in and asked if it was possible to burn, and of course we can't do that, but I appreciate them checking and knowing what the conditions are around their properties. If they can continue to do that, we'll be in good shape."
You can find the latest burning restrictions for Morden Fire & Rescue's response area here.