Wild Fire Update Northern Ontario
THUNDER BAY – There was one new fire confirmed by the afternoon of August 09 in the Northwest District. Kenora District Fire Number 46 has been declared out at 0.1 hectares and was located near Kilvert Lake. The forest fire hazard is low with pockets of moderate in the far north and southwest of the region.
NorthEast District
There were eight new fires confirmed by the afternoon of August 09 with more fire reports being investigated at the time of this update. Seven of these fires are located in the Sudbury district and one is located in the North Bay district. Yesterday there were twelve fires confirmed in the region. A majority of these fires were in the Sudbury and North Bay Districts. Algonquin Park and the Bancroft district had one new forest fire apiece.
The forest fire hazard is moderate to high in the eastern sectors of the region and extreme along the north shore of Lake Huron of the NorthEast District.
Fire of Note
Sudbury 38 is not under control at 438 hectares. The fire is 100% contained. Great progress is being made on the fire line by ground crews. 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.
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.
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.
Out of Province
The out of province deployment of Ontario fire management personnel has ended. 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.
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).
