A carelessly tossed cigarette butt, the sparks from an inadvertent brush cutter collision with a stone, even the exhaust from an ATV hurtling down a bush road can lead to a raging forest fire during the bone-dry conditions Manitoulin (along with most of North America) has been experiencing over the past few weeks. Extreme conditions call for extreme vigilance.
While potential property losses due to a forest fire are immense should there be any lapse in that vigilance, the potential for tragedy if someone were to be injured or killed is incalculable.
It is with some dismay that The Expositor has been receiving reports that Island fire departments are having to respond to bonfires, especially in the West End and central areas where forest fire risks were deemed to be in the “extreme” range—with the rest of Manitoulin in the moderate to high zones. Thankfully, due to recent drops in temperature and the relief provided by rain, the risk factor on most Manitoulin has now abated to the low range (the extreme West End remains in moderate territory), but given how dry the soil has been for many days, it will take considerable precipitation to thoroughly soak the ground. Driving the blade of a shovel down into the soil (or attempting to) would make that fact clear to any sensible person.
There are duties and responsibilities that accompany being a member of any society or community and one of the most important of those is to not take unnecessary risks that could cause harm to the other members that community. And, no, the desire to have a nice bonfire while hanging out at the beach or in the bush at camp with friends and family does not constitute a necessity.
The vast majority of Islanders and our summer visitors are responsible citizens who forgo engaging in dangerous conduct during times of extreme chance of forest fires. But it is important to remember that, once the worst danger has passed, the need for vigilance does not.
The coming years promise ever-expanding periods of dry weather, and that holds true whether one accepts the premise of human-caused climate change or not. The climate is becoming more volatile, bringing with it the need to change some of our cherished approaches to rural life. We cannot afford to let our guard down.
Someone’s life depends upon it.
