| Strange Events in the Seine River Forest The Winnipeg Fire Department responded to another call on Saturday night, June 1,in the Seine River Forest. A stolen 4X4 was on fire, sending almost 15 metres of flame into the air next to the forest. The tinder dry fields were afire once more. The people of Creek Bend Road had to pray again for northerly winds to protect their houses. The next day found a tow truck taking away the still warm truck. In the distance other burned out hulks sit in the charred fallow fields. A set of old tire tracks passes over the scavenged remains of a charred fawn. I do not even want to speculate on what happened there. Rumours of partyers, stolen cars and illegal bow hunters abound in the area. What is happening in the Bois des Esprits? Save Our Seine will look into this troubling situation. |
| Fire in the Seine River Forest! At 6:18 on the evening of Tuesday, May 21 a phone call was made to 911. There were multiple fires burning in the forest just south of the proposed Bois des Esprits Park! Strong winds had carried burning embers into the forestland on both the east and west sides of the river. Several fire department units responded, and at times up to eighteen firefighters fought spot fires spread by the high winds. A second flare up at 3:49 AM was also quickly dealt with. The cause of the fire is still unknown. Perhaps partying teenagers had left a fire unattended. For now the smell of burnt grass still hangs in the night air a kilometer north of Creek Bend Road. Huge charred logs floating in the river bob as a canoe passes. A few acres of lowland beside the river are blackened much like Yellowstone Park was after it had its fires. We can be sure that new shoots of grass will soon appear beneath the canopy of the old river oaks and elms. The deer that that stand on the high bluffs curiously watching passing canoes will come down to forage on what are now burnt out peninsulas. The river will heal itself and the forest will be as it was. This will only happen if we make sure that the forest is protected from its only real danger. That danger is us. Postscript: By June the grass has indeed returned. The undergrowth and a few flame-girded trees were destroyed but the riverbank forest is on the mend. |