A Dozen New Fires in Northwest Region

THUNDER BAY – High humidity, high temperatures, lightning and human-caused fires are keeping firefighters and air attack busy. Fighting fire is physically and mentally challenging under these conditions and firefighters must be vigilant while working a fire to avoid heat exhaustion and dehydration.

There were six new fires confirmed by the early evening of July 12 in the Northwest Region with five of them occurring in the Nipigon District and one in the Red Lake District.

There were also seven new fires confirmed by day’s end July 11 in the districts of Fort Frances, Nipigon, Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay. There were five new fires on Saturday.

One fire of note in the region is Red Lake Fire Number 50, located about 58 kilometers southwest of the town of Red Lake in the Sydney Lake Area. Multiple FireRanger crews are doing ground attack and continuous air attack has been used to try and hold the fire. At the time of this report it was classed as not under control at 109 hectares in size.

Showers, thunderstorms and possible severe thunderstorms are forecast for the Northwest Region which is expected to lower the forest fire hazard in the southwest sectors but it is expected to remain moderate in central locations and high to extreme in the north on July 13.

Out of Province Deployment

Ontario is supporting firefighting efforts with 424 fire management personnel to the following provinces and territories – Alberta (154), British Columbia (100), Manitoba(4), Northwest Territories (84), Saskatchewan(50), Parks Canada- Saskatchewan (30), Yukon (2).

There are two air attack packages (Each with 2 CL-415 heavy water bombers and a Birddog aircraft )in Alberta and British Columbia. Each package brings with it aviation support personnel including pilots, air attack officers and mechanics. (14 total)

Ontario is also providing equipment including fire pumps and hose, sprinkler kits, chainsaws and hand tools to Alberta, British Columbia, Parks Canada and Saskatchewan.

The Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services program is reminding people that they are responsible for safe outdoor fire management and must follow guidelines set out in the Forest Fires Prevention Act of Ontario including no day burning of brush or grass fires. Campfires are to be tended at all times and put out before leaving.

For further tips on how to be FireSmart, visit ontario.ca/firesmart. For more information about the current fire situation and the active fires map, ontario.ca/forestfire.

The Northwest Region Fire Information Hotline is available for general information updates – 1-888-258-8842. Report forest fires by calling 310-FIRE (3473).