If you've been looking forward to a campfire over the long weekend, there's good news.
A provincial fire ban put in place last month is being lifted.
According to a Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry news release, the restricted fire zone will be lifted May 16 at 12:01 a.m.
"The province will continue to assess forest fire hazard conditions and an RFZ designation may be reinstated in higher risk areas if conditions deteriorate. These restrictions are put in place in order to reduce the number of preventable human-caused fires and lower the risk of wildfires impacting the public," reads the release.
The ministry also advises people to check with their local municipality to see if a local fire ban is in effect.
Ontario has increased the base funding for emergency forest firefighting by $30.2 million to ensure safety measures are in place for fire rangers.
"This is an extraordinary period. As we put measures in place to protect our staff and the public from the pandemic, we have been taking additional steps to prepare for the wildland fire season," said John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, in a news release.
"Nothing is more important than protecting the safety of people and communities across the province. Although we want people to enjoy themselves, lifting the Restricted Fire Zone designation does not mean we can let our guard down when it comes to preventing human-caused forest fires."
So far this year, the MNRF says there have been 37 wildland fires that burned 93 hectares, which is below the 10-year average of 114 wildland fires burning 8,260 hectares.
