{"id":668942,"date":"2026-05-14T13:07:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/668942\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:07:13","slug":"strong-winds-dry-conditions-raise-wildfire-risk-in-winnipeg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/668942\/","title":{"rendered":"Strong winds, dry conditions raise wildfire risk in Winnipeg"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service is warning Winnipeggers to be extra cautious as dry conditions and strong winds increase the risk of grass and wildland fires across the city.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Until it greens up or we get some significant rain, there is an increased risk for grass and wildland fires, particularly when we have high winds,&#8221; said Scott Wilkinson, Deputy Chief, Fire Rescue Operations and Training.<\/p>\n<p>High winds forecast<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Winnipeg and the surrounding area are expected to see <a href=\"https:\/\/chvnradio.com\/articles\/manitoba-braces-for-100-kmh-winds-in-south-snow-in-north-\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">wind gusts<\/a> of over 70 km\/h, with areas further to the west expecting even stronger gusts.<\/p>\n<p>In Winnipeg, fire crews typically respond to around 200 wildland fires per year. They say these types of fires can spread quickly, threatening property, and in some cases, causing extensive damage.<\/p>\n<p>The WFPS says almost all wildland fires in the city are caused by human activity.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are asking residents to be cautious and take steps to prevent these fires,&#8221; said Wilkinson. &#8220;It\u2019s also important for property owners near wildland areas to properly maintain their yards to reduce their risks.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Related Stories:<\/p>\n<p>How to reduce fire risk<\/p>\n<p>To do this, fire officials say it is important to thin and prune vegetation, choose fire-resistant plants, water vegetation around your home, especially during dry conditions and place approved fire pits in open areas away from overhanging trees.<\/p>\n<p>With current weather conditions increasing fire risk, the WFPS is also reminding residents to be especially careful with smoking materials. In the past few days, the service says it has responded to several fires believed to be caused by improper disposal of cigarette butts.<\/p>\n<p>Fire restrictions in effect<\/p>\n<p>The WFPS is also reminding Winnipeggers that fires cannot be started when wind speeds, or gusts, exceed 25 km\/h.\u00a0This includes fires in approved backyard fire pits, fires in City parks and any other open-air fire, even with a permit.<\/p>\n<p>Winnipeg is expected to get some much-needed rain showers beginning Sunday and lasting into Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service is warning Winnipeggers to be extra cautious as dry conditions and strong winds&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668943,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-668942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}