Wainfleet Bog fire extinguished
A fire burning in the Wainfleet Bog for about three weeks has finally been extinguished.
Firefighters from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) left the site on Sunday.
Staff from the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) have been monitoring the bog since Sunday to ensure there are no other fires.
The NPCA declared the fire was extinguished Tuesday at 4 p.m., but will continue to monitor the bog regularly.
Continued monitoring is needed because the primary fuel in a bog fire is peat. The peat can smoulder and go undetected for long periods of time.
“When we dealt with a fire in 2012, it was burning for almost two weeks before anything significant was done,” Wainfleet Mayor April Jeffs, who sits on the NPCA board, said in a news release issued late Tuesday.
Once the MNRF arrived to fight the fire it was 6.4-hectares in size. NPCA spokesman Michael Reles said the fire did not grow in size during the past few weeks.
He said there was damage to trees and peat moss.
“For the size of the bog it’s not that devastating , it’s a relatively small portion of the bog.”
Two four-person crews from the MNR battled the fire with water pumps. Firefighters used ATVs to gain access to the area.
Reles said there wasn’t a need for more firefighters, but crews did switch.
The Wainfleet Bog remains closed to the public due to dry conditions. Reles said anything can pose a risk of starting a fire at the bog. He said there is still a “tremendous risk for fires.”