Welsford fire crews work to douse a forest fire on Eagle Rock on June 11, 2021. (Image: Dave MacCready/submitted)
Compared to last year which was very dry, it has been a quiet forest fire season in New Brunswick.
As of Monday, wildfire prevention officer Roger Collet says only one active fire in an isolated area of Northumberland County was being patrolled.
“There’s not really any fire burning on it at all. They are just making sure that there aren’t any smokes or embers that could reignite.”
Although late spring was dry and there was some fire activity in the province, Collet says it slowed down in July when the weather pattern changed.
“In July, we had more rain, more humidity… lots of humidity in the air this year. Once August came around we had a bit of a bump, a few extra fires, but nothing extreme.”
The number of fires is down over the ten year average.
On the other hand, it’s been a very busy fire season in Western Canada this year.
Collet says the quiet season here allowed New Brunswick to send firefighters to hotspots in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Typically, deployments last about 14 days and he adds some firefighters even went twice.
