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The current fire ban in both the City and Rural Municipality of Meadow Lake is still on. (File photo/meadowlakeNOW Staff)
Still banned

Meadow Lake fire ban continues for now

May 26, 2021 | 4:00 PM

A fire ban will remain in place for the time being in both the City and Rural Municipality of Meadow Lake, despite the rainfall on Monday.

Fire chief Neil Marsh said the decision was made out of caution as they monitor the forecast over the next few days. The city and the RM are working to enact/remove fire bans in concert to avoid confusion.

“Whenever they determine the rainfall was wide enough and the risk is low enough, they’ll be lifting the fire ban,” Marsh said.

So far in 2021, Marsh said Meadow Lake has had the busiest couple of months for fire calls in their recent history.

“Quite a bit of that is to do with the weather,” he said. “Now that it’s a bit wet, we’re expecting less grass fires and bush fires. But then again, it all depends on the weather.

Collecting of samples across the area will continue over the course of the week. Marsh said they monitor a number of elements before making a decision, such as how dry the soil and surface is and how hot and dry the weather is going to be.

“Lots of factors come into play, it’s a bit of a judgement call,” he said. “But we always err on the side of caution, because the inconvenience of having a campfire is pretty small compared to the inconvenience of having somebody’s farm or house burnt out.”

Marsh said he wouldn’t be surprised if the ban is lifted by the weekend, but won’t bet on anything at this time.

“When the ban is lifted, we will announce it on Voyent Alert,” he said.

cjnbnews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW

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