Firefighters quenching a brush fire a day in 'abnormally dry' spring
CBC News | Posted: March 27, 2024 4:56 PM | Last Updated: March 27
It's one of the driest starts to a year on record in Ottawa
Ottawa firefighters have responded to an average of one brush fire a day during what has turned out to be one of the driest starts to a year on record.
Ottawa Fire Services made the statement in social media posts Wednesday, saying a brush fire in rural west Ottawa was the 12th between March 15 and 26.
There were two more fires in Kanata on Monday evening, Deputy Fire Chief Todd Horricks said Tuesday.
An open-air fire ban went into effect on Sunday. The ban includes campfires, agricultural burns and brush pile burns, and extends to those with permits.
Horricks said most years, burn bans begin in early to mid-April. This year, however, spring has arrived with "abnormally dry conditions due to a shortened winter."
According to a CBC analysis of weather data dating back to 1890, it's Ottawa's second-driest start to the year on record.
About 122 millimetres of precipitation fell between Jan. 1 and March 25, about 83 millimetres below average. Just 101 millimetres fell during that same period in 2021.
The Deep River and Maniwaki areas have also been unusually dry, according to the most recent federal drought report. Quebec's forest fire protection agency says there's a low fire risk for most of the Outaouais.