Follow the rules — with no exceptions

Opinion

As anyone who frequents these pages can attest, many of the editorials that appear in this space conclude with a prescriptive note: a piece of advice, a suggested course of action or even a firm declaration of what needs to be done in response to an issue of current public concern.

In today’s case, the message is as simple, direct and urgent as could possibly be: Don’t do it.

As we head into the long-awaited on-ramp to summer known as the May long weekend, if your plans include outdoor activities that might tempt you to defy the fire bans currently in effect throughout the province — including the city of Winnipeg — please, don’t.

Restrictions such as the ones that have been imposed — prohibiting open fires, solid-fuel barbecues, fireworks and other incendiary activities, whether in wilderness settings, public parks or the privacy of one’s one backyard — are enacted for a reason. And this year, the urgency of the broadly applied ban cannot be overstated. There is absolutely no excuse for not obeying the rules.

Fortunately — albeit certainly not for those directly affected by the fires — there has been no shortage this week of emphatic reminders of why the restrictions must be respected. From the blaze that has engulfed more than 20,000 hectares near The Pas to the wildfires raging in lake country near Lac du Bonnet and in the Whiteshell, prompting evacuation orders for permanent residents and cottagers alike, there is plentiful evidence that situation in rural Manitoba is dire.

And from the massive conflagration that burned fields and industrial businesses in Transcona earlier this week to the wildfire sweeping through parts of the Winnipeg-adjacent RM of St. Clements, there’s no disputing the danger is equally acute closer to home.

Given the reams of news footage and images documenting the fires, not to mention the plumes of smoke visible to the naked eye and the grey haze that has generally enveloped the province, it’s impossible to imagine there’s anyone in Manitoba who remains unaware of the current emergency.

And yet, with certain people being as they sometimes are — self-focused, oblivious, stubborn and inclined to think rules don’t apply to them — there will inevitably be some this weekend who will decide it’s OK for them to light a modest little bonfire, or maybe shoot off a few minor fireworks to celebrate summer’s sort-of arrival.

It’s a very bad, very stupid decision that could put the properties, livelihoods and lives of fellow Manitobans at risk. So please, don’t do it.

The past week has presented a figurative perfect storm of blazing temperatures, high winds and tinder-dry environments that spawned a near-unprecedented wave of fires across the province. And while an abrupt change in the weather — substantially cooler airflow and the arrival of badly needed precipitation — will somewhat reduce the risk and, no doubt, provide great relief to those battling the blazes, the level of fire danger in Manitoba and Winnipeg will remain high as we head into the year’s hottest months.

The cool, wet conditions that await us on the May long weekend might discourage some folks from following through on their outdoors-inclined plans, but those who remain committed to carrying out their jump-into-summer celebrations should do so with an abundance of caution and a strict adherence to the fire restrictions that are intended to keep us all safe.

Should you be visited by a momentary temptation to bend the rules — you know, just this once, just for us, just for a tiny campfire or a couple of innocent fireworks — the obligation remains the same.

Don’t do it.