Township of North Dundas fire services received a call that there appeared to be a fire within the Alvin Runnalls Forest, located on County Road 7 between Chesterville and Morewood. Above is a sample of the damage left behind by the fire at Alvin Runnalls Forest which started on Sun., Sept. 21. Courtesy Photo

MOREWOOD – With the help of Mother Nature, and the tireless efforts of members of the North Dundas Fire Service, the 100-acre fire at Alvin Runnalls Forest has been largely brought under control. The hard work of fully extinguishing what is now essentially a bog fire remains.

Township of North Dundas fire services received their first call at approximately 6:46 p.m. on Sunday evening through 911 that there appeared to be a fire within the Alvin Runnalls Forest, located on County Road 7 between Chesterville and Morewood. Upon their arrival crews began efforts to extinguish and contain the fire, something that was made difficult due to the distance of the fire from surrounding roads and its location in a bog-type area. Due to safety concerns crews were pulled back to some degree after dark but continued to monitor the situation overnight.

The Township of North Dundas initiated an emergency management response, and were in contact with its partners, including SDG Counties, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and South Nation Conservation. The township advised that a decision to declare a state of emergency would be made on Monday.

On Mon., Sept. 22, after further review, the decision was made to declare a State of Emergency and make a request to the province was made at 12 noon. Making this declaration will allow the Township to gain access to further assistance and resources through the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). Due to weather conditions, those resources could not be sent to the area until Tuesday morning, subject to further information being gathered at the scene.

While never stated specifically, the interpretation from the comments was that air support (a water bomber) was being considered. The Ontario Provincial Police, however, did arrive on scene during the day and began an investigation into the incident. In the meantime, firefighters were maintaining a fire line, extinguishing flames with water backpacks and sprayers. Water was being sourced from a local quarry, so that no local water sources were impacted.

Fortunately, the weather conditions which had delayed a response from MNR also served to help extinguish a large portion of the fire.

An update that was released by the Township at 9:30 a.m. reported that due to the efforts of firefighters and the rain that had been received overnight, the blaze burning at the forest has been reduced to 10-12 acres (about four hectares) down from the massive 100-acre fire that had initially been reported.

Efforts now will be concentrated on fighting the fire on the ground, as much of the fire is now smouldering at the surface, or underground, in some spots as much as 50 cm below the surface. Equipment will be used to open the ground, allowing for maximum water penetration. Firefighters were reporting no open flames on Tuesday morning.

It is expected that North Dundas Fire Services will invoke some mutual-aid agreements with neighbouring partners to allow for the respite of their firefighters.

No injuries were sustained as a result of this incident, no buildings were in danger, and there was no consideration of the need to consider evacuation. Residents were notified through social media to be aware of smoky conditions in the area, and County Road 7 was never closed, although people were requested to avoid the area to facilitate safe movement of first responders. At this time the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Mayor Tony Fraser, in one of his video updates extended his thanks on behalf of the North Dundas Fire Service and other first responders on scene for the generous donation of food and beverages by residents and businesses. Their generosity was very much appreciated.

The Alvin Runnalls Forest is closed until further notice.