The 2011 forest fire season recorded significantly more fires in Ontario than 2010 with a much greater area affected. As of October 31, the official end of the fire season, 1,334* forest fires were recorded affecting 635,374* hectares. The latter figure represents the most area burned in the last 50 years.
| Year | # of fires | Hectares |
| 2009 | 385* | 20,656 |
| 2010 | 931* | 14,824 |
| 2011 | 1,334* | 635,374 |
| 10-year average* | 1,094 | 139,310
|
* - Figures updated on July 11, 2012 to reflect changes to the official records in the MNR database. The 10-year average now includes the 2011 fire season and covers the period of 2002-2011.
Area burned has been high at other times in our history. In 1922 over 800,000 hectares burned and more than 600,000 have been affected several other times. Elsewhere in Canada, Alberta had over 940,000 hectares burn in 2011 and Saskatchewan had more than 1.8 million hectares affected by fire in 2010.
Much of the area burned in Ontario in 2011 was due to a handful of very large fires. In fact, 2011 saw the largest fire recorded in Ontario history in the last 50 years—Sioux Lookout 70 at 141,000 hectares. Another fire, Sioux Lookout 35, reached 112,000 hectares to become the eighth-largest fire on record in half a century. These two fires alone accounted for approximately 40 per cent of the total area burned. This is the first time since 1980 that Ontario has had two individual fires of greater than 100,000 hectares in the same season.
Fires are part of nature’s cycle of renewal and re-growth. In north-western Ontario the provincial forest fire management strategy provides that fires in certain areas—where there are no dangers to public safety or values—are allowed to burn within environmental, social and economic criteria.
The 2011 fire season was extraordinary because of the concentration of difficult fires in the northern parts of the Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Nipigon districts. These fires arose from frequent lightning storms combined with hot, dry and often windy weather. Smoke from these fires affected a number of communities and businesses and led to community evacuations due to health concerns and in some cases direct fire threat.
In total, 4,476 people from 11 northern communities were evacuated between July 21 and August 9. Some communities were evacuated twice. The evacuees were moved to 15 host communities across Ontario. The evacuation effort involved many agencies including Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Emergency Management Ontario (EMO), non-government organizations (such as the Red Cross), First Nations, host communities and the Department of National Defence. EMO and MNR worked together to schedule over 250 flights to move people from—and back to, their home communities.
The Government of Canada will be responsible for paying for the costs of the evacuation effort.
Fires of Note in 2011
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Fire #'s | Size(Hectares) | Peak Resource Use |
| Deer Lake/Sandy Lake Complex | RED 58 RED 82 RED 91 RED 100 RED 118 | 55,315 | 13 Type 1 Crews 5 Type 2 Crews 32 Overhead staff 5 helicopters |
| South Bay Complex | RED 84 SLK 61 SLK 64 | 66,864 | 53 Type 1 Crews 12 Type 2 Crews 14 Overhead staff 17 helicopters |
| Pickle Lake Complex | SLK 35 SLK 60 SLK 70 | 272,001 | 2 Type 1 IMTs 1 Type 2 IMT 11 Type 1 Crews 4 Type 2 Crews 22 Overhead staff 8 Helicopters |
| Wabakimi Cluster | SLK 82 THU 50 THU 51 THU 52 THU 55 THU 57 | 29,491 | 1 Type 2 IMT 12 Crews 2 Helicopters |
| RED 124 | RED 124 | 21, 675 | 29 Type 1 Crews 13 Type 2 Crews 33 Overhead staff 14 helicopters |
2011 was a challenging season and despite valiant efforts nine structural values were lost to fire. However, many more cottages, tourist camps, timber values and industrial values were successfully protected.
On average, the aviation and fire management program spends approximately $119 million per year. Every year is different due to differences in fire occurrence and fire behaviour. Fire operating costs have ranged from $65 to $175 million annually over the past ten years. The 2011 fire operational spending is approximately $229.9 million. Spending for 2010 was approximately $99.7 million.
Spending was higher in 2011 in part due to the large amount of out of province assistance that was needed. In total, Ontario received 23,314 person days of assistance from out of province agencies. Out of province personnel were present in Ontario continuously over the period of July 12 to September 21. As the receiving agency, Ontario must ultimately pay for the resources it imported. This has been reflected in the 2011 operational spending figures.
In addition to ministry resources and out of province personnel, Ontario also utilized contract services to support forest fire management activities. Contract resources used included Type-2 sustained action crews (up to 91 used at one time), three basecamps, as well as nurses, paramedics and infrared scanning services.
While Ontario received considerable assistance in 2011, the province also provided support to other agencies during periods when fire behaviour was low within the province. In 2011, Ontario personnel supported Minnesota, Saskatchewan, Manitoba the Northwest Territories and, most extensively, Alberta.
Approximately 530 staff participated in deployments to Alberta in May and June, for a total of 9, 152 person days.
Staff with MNR’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services branch also conducted four prescribed burns inside the fire region as of October 31, 2011. These four burns covered a total of 452 hectares.
Prescribed fire can play a vital role in forest ecosystems. For instance, a prescribed burn held in the Hearst forest will help renew the forest so it becomes a quality habitat for caribou. Another prescribed burn that took place in Wabikimi Provincial Park will help rejuvenate a caribou calving area that had suffered storm damage.
From May 2 to 8, AFFES staff and aircraft took part in Operation Trillium Response, held near Bon Echo Provincial Park. Operation Trillium Response was a training exercise designed to strengthen ties between the Canadian Forces and AFFES.
Although it was a busy fire season, Ontario FireRangers and staff from the Fire Management Headquarters across Ontario still took time to participate in education and outreach activities with the public. Staff appeared at numerous events to talk about fire prevention and the FireSmart program. FireRangers were also able to lend a helping hand to many of Ontario’s provincial parks on several improvement projects.
Of Ontario’s 1,334 fires in 2011, causes have been identified for 1,210. For these fires, approximately 62 per cent were caused by lightning and 38 per cent were caused by human activities.
A warm and dry fall in 2011 could lead to a busy start to the season in the spring of 2012. Preparations are underway for the 2012 forest fire season with equipment repair and aircraft maintenance as well as staff training and upgrading.
