The Ste. Anne Fire Department is thanking residents for respecting the ongoing fire ban as crews have been busy assisting with wildfires across Eastern Manitoba.
“First of all, the Ste. Anne Fire Department would like to thank everyone who followed the burn ban to help make our jobs easier,” says Fire Chief Bob Saindon. “We did have a few smaller fires over the past few weeks with minimal damage.”
Helping in Badger and West Hawk Lake
As wildfires intensified in the southeast, the department sent personnel to assist. Four members were dispatched to Badger, located southeast of Steinbach, where they helped with fire watch and sprinkler protection.
A few days later, additional members of the department were deployed to the West Hawk Lake area to install sprinkler systems in remote locations. These systems are designed to protect structures and slow the spread of flames in vulnerable areas.
Ongoing closures in provincial parks
Large portions of Whiteshell Provincial Park remain closed due to wildfire activity, while all of Nopiming Provincial Park is still off-limits to the public.
Saindon emphasizes the importance of staying out of restricted zones.
“A reminder to let the firefighters do their job as they continue to battle these out-of-control blazes,” he says. “Please stay away.”
Fire ban remains in effect
While most residents have respected the local burn ban, Saindon notes that there have been a few violations.
“We’ve only had some that didn’t respect the ban,” he says. “But I had concerned citizens call me so we could extinguish fires before it got out of hand.”
The fire ban in the RM of Ste. Anne remains in effect until further notice.