ERCA sees hope in out-of-control wildfire that ravaged Lakeshore conservation area

A massive fire at Tremblay Beach Conservation Area Friday evening tore through the 43-acre park but left infrastructure, including observation tower and parking lot, untouched. 

The blaze that spread across the protected natural area is believed to have been caused by an unpermitted open burn, the Municipality of Lakeshore said in a news release. 

Quick response by Lakeshore Fire and Rescue crews prevented the situation from getting worse, said Tim Byrne, chief administrative officer of the Essex Region Conservation Authority. 

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“We were extremely fortunate that Lakeshore fire responded in a timely and professional fashion and eliminated any threat to the shoreline residences, because initially the wind could have blown the fire (that way),” he told the Star. 

Flames spread quickly through the park, mainly because of the presence of a large amount of phragmites, an invasive — and undesirable — plant species. The accidental burning of that plant could, however, present a silver lining for ERCA.

“We’re going to be moving ahead to see if we can turn a problem into a plus,” said Byrne. 

Twenty firefighters from three Lakeshore fire stations responded to the fire. Firefighters remained on site for five hours to ensure any smouldering hotspots did not reignite. 

An invasive species, phragmites is “a perennial grass that has been damaging ecosystems in Ontario for decades,” a government of Ontario factsheet says. 

Phragmites is an aggressive plant that spreads quickly and out-competes native species for water and nutrients. It releases toxins from its roots into the soil to hinder the growth of and kill other surrounding plants. While it prefers areas of standing water, its roots can grow to extreme lengths, allowing it to survive in relatively dry areas, the factsheet says. 

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The presence of phragmites can increases the fire hazard because the area becomes composed of a high percentage of dead stalks. When they catch fire, phragmites also give off a lot of smoke. 

“What is suspected is some young people were out and had a little campfire out there, and then it got out of control,” said Byrne. “That’s an unlawful activity, and it’s not sanctioned in there.” 

Firefighters allowed the fire to burn itself out using the phragmites as fuel, which presents an opportunity for ERCA, said Byrne. 

“We’re reaching out quickly to see if we can actually encourage some more senior levels of funding, to see if there’s an opportunity to do some level of water control at that site to attempt to eradicate the return of phragmites. 

“We now have that that landscape over there that had the phragmites eradicated, and now we’re taking a close look at can we take advantage of a poor situation and improve upon it?” 

The area with the dead phragmites is highly reactive to changes in lake water levels, said Byrne.  

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“There’s a need to do some level of preventing Lake St Clair water levels from interchanging directly or immediately with the Tremblay beach water.” 

Meanwhile, the park is open again to the public, because there are no safety issues, Byrne said. 

“If you observe something, either young people or something that just doesn’t look right, reach out, call park watch or call our office immediately and report anything.” 

Lakeshore reminds residents of the requirements for open burning, which include approval from the fire department. Open burns must also: 

• Be attended and supervised by persons over the age of 18. 

• Have sufficient equipment and/or water on site to suppress the fire. 

• Be a minimum of 6.5 metres (21 feet) from combustibles and property lines for a three-foot, by three-foot, by three-foot wood pile. 

• Higher setbacks are required for larger fires, as determined by the Lakeshore Fire Department. 

• Farmers can burn vegetable matter or vegetation incidental to typical farming operations, which include brush, wheat stubble, corn stubble, tree branches/stumps, and vegetation debris from excavated farm ditch and drain cleaning. 

• The burning of leaves, cattails, phragmites, garbage, plastics, rubber, and shingles, etc. is not permitted. 

All open burning requires permission from the Lakeshore Fire Department. Permits can be acquired, for free, online at Lakeshore.ca/OpenBurning. 

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