Progress being made against North Dundas fire

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North Dundas forest fire continues to burn

Scenes from the forest fire near Morewood, Ont.

State of emergency due to forest fire near Morewood, Ont.

A 100-acre fire that caused the Township of North Dundas to declare a state of emergency is still not under control, but fire crews have had success containing the fire.

“While the fire is not yet under control, it is fair to say that crews are closing in on that reality. This could still take several days, and weather will continue to be a major contributing factor to the long-term success of firefighting activities at the forest,” the Township said in a statement.

The Township attributes the success to a “combination of firebreaks, rainfall and firefighting efforts.”

The fire broke out in the Alvin Runnalls Forest near Morewood, Ont., on Sunday night, and yesterday, the Township declared a state of emergency in response to the wildfire.

No people have been harmed and no structures have been damaged by the fire.

“At this time, we’ve got it contained down to a little over four hectares, we believe, at this time,” says North Dundas Township fire chief Kreg Raistrick.

“The challenge is water. With the drought conditions, there’s very little water available on site. Typically, this area would be submersed in water; it’s a bog. We have water available that we can get to the site, but we have to truck it in. We’re stringing out hose lines down to a site and then from that site we’re going to try to pump with small pumps and pump water into the burn site.”

Raistrick says the hoses must be run nearly 500 metres into the forest, through trails that are only accessible on foot, or with ATVs.

“We have a great team,” he says. “And the community has really come together to support us as well. We have people coming by dropping off food and it’s absolutely fantastic.”

North Dundas Mayor Tony Fraser says fire crews from four fire halls in the area are onsite, as well officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources who have expertise in battling this type of sub-terranean blaze.

“We’ve had a couple days of rain and that rain really has changed the game for the firefighting crews. It cools everyone down, it cools the ground down, and it protects the forest cover, which is one of our big challenges,” says Fraser, who notes the forest is also surrounded by century-old white pine trees.

“We’re very concerned about conserving our trees and providing habitat for the wildlife in the area.”

Fraser says crews will continue to battle the blaze with ‘boots on the ground’, digging-up hotspots, and cooling those areas with water where it continues to burn.

“My thanks goes to those folks for thinking of supporting us. That support, more than likely, will be needed as the firefighters continue working through the bog. It is a big community effort and the firefighters here are volunteers that are leaving their businesses, leaving their workplaces to be here to support this. We’re fortunate that we have employers that allow that to happen,” he says.

The Township is asking people to avoid County Roads 3 and 7 at the Alvin Runnalls Forest to allow for the transit of emergency vehicles. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Morewood is located 42 kilometres south of downtown Ottawa.

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