Officials with the Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the Fire Marshal’s Office are urging the public to be especially diligent to prevent fires during the current dry spell.
Wildfires can cause significant damage endangering homes, cottages, forests, farms buildings, crops, livestock, the public and firefighters. By taking extra precautions and following these tips, Islanders and visitors can help prevent potentially disastrous fires and the liability created by them:
• There have been three grain field fires in the past five days. Use caution when parking a motor vehicle in standing ripe grain, unbaled straw, grass, bushes, or other vegetation. The catalytic converter or other exhaust system parts can start a fire.
• All burning permits are revoked until the fire indices return to low and permit conditions are met.
• A campfire is allowed if it is kept small, is properly contained to prevent fire spread (for example in a campfire site or chiminea with screens to prevent sparks from escaping), is never left unattended and is completely extinguished after use.
• Check with your local town and city authority to ensure you follow the rules regarding outdoor fires.
• Properly extinguish and discard all smoking material.
• Keep mulch moist and 18 inches from a building. Use crushed rock or pea gravel or another non-combustible material instead of mulch next to a structure.
• Be especially careful using outdoor equipment such as chain saws, welding equipment and portable generators.
• Carry a portable fire extinguisher in your vehicle.
With the current dry conditions Prince Edward Island is experiencing, Chinese lanterns (also known as Sky Lanterns, Magic Lanterns, and by other names) can be an additional hazard. These devices use an open flame to elevate the lantern into the atmosphere where they follow wind currents. There is no control over where they descend. The lanterns could land and start a fire in grain fields, grasslands, dunes or in forested areas.
The Fire Marshal’s Office reminds the public that the display, sale, and possession of fireworks is prohibited in Prince Edward Island at all times, except by special permit.
Persistent dry conditions may necessitate a fire closure order. Officials are closely monitoring the conditions, and assessing hazards such as dried grass and leaf litter.
For more information on a potential fire ban, the public is encouraged to monitor media reports and official government sources:
• www.gov.pe.ca
• @InfoPEI http://www.twitter.com/infopei
• @PEIPublicSafety www.twitter.com/PEIPublicSafety
• Infopei on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/govpe
• PEI Public Safety on Facebook www.facebook.com/PEIPublicSafety