THUNDER BAY – WILD FIRE UPDATE – The Wild Fire situation in Northeastern Ontario is quite different than in Northwestern Ontario. There were seven new fires confirmed by the afternoon of August 08. These fires are located in the following districts: Sudbury (five fires); North Bay (one fire); and Bancroft (one fire). These fires range from 0.1 to 1.0 hectare in size.
Yesterday there were three fires confirmed in the region. Sudbury 77 is under control at 0.2 hectares. Sudbury 78 and North Bay 18 have been declared out.
The forest fire hazard is moderate to high throughout the region.
Emergency Area Order
Effective 4:00 p.m. Friday July 31, 2015, an Emergency Area Order has been implemented for an area north of Sudbury, northeast of Halfway Lake Provincial Park in Northeastern Ontario. The order covers an area around the Sudbury 38 wildfire, located east of Highway 144 as depicted in this map. While the Order is in effect, road closures and travel restrictions may occur.
Putting the order in place is a precaution that allows the ministry to move quickly to restrict access to areas being threatened to protect public safety. This could involve closing roads to prevent the movement of people into the area. It also means that people may be asked to leave an area if fire management personnel believe that the public is at risk from the threat of fire. Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry fire staff and conservation officers will strictly enforce the restrictions.
The following are the Implementation Orders Issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry under Emergency Area Order 2015-01.
- All travel on and use of any and all forest access roads and trails on crown lands in the Townships of Onaping, Scotia, Fairbairn, Dunbar, Emo, Rhodes, within the EAO is prohibited unless authorized by a travel permit issued by the Sudbury District of the MNRF.
- The use and occupation of crown lands within the Townships of Onaping, Scotia, Fairbairn, Dunbar, Emo, Rhodes, within the EAO is prohibited.
- The use and occupation of crown land in the townships of Frechette McNamara, Sweeney, Beaumont, Roberts and Botha within the EAO area will be allowed but user may be notified that immediate evacuation of the area may occur and must comply immediately vacating the area.
NOTAM #150665 is in effect for the Sudbury 38 fire within the Emergency Area Order. Please refer to Transport Canada’s website for more flight details on the NOTAM.
Out of Province
The out of province deployment of Ontario fire management personnel has ended with all resources returning to Ontario August 07. At this time there are no requests for more resources to assist the west.
Since May, Ontario has provided forest fire management assistance to Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba (Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center assignments), the Northwest Territories, Parks Canada, Saskatchewan and the Yukon.
A number of deployments through the season to date has resulted in a total of 957 personnel deployed (the total includes people who were on out of province assignment more than once).
The total number of people times the number of days they spent on deployments since May equals 15,646 person days.
Ontario continues to supply equipment including fire hose, sprinkler kits, pumps and chainsaws to Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba (Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center) and Saskatchewan.
Fire of Note
Sudbury 38 is not under control at approximately 438 hectares. The fire is about 85% contained. Good progress is being made on the fire line by ground crews. No significant growth has been observed in this fire for a few days now.
Travel by road and air is still being restricted to this fire, in order to ensure public safety and to allow our ground crews to continue to suppress this fire. Please see the Emergency Area Order below for more details.
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
Report forest fires by calling 310-FIRE (3473).
