May 31/19 Northwestern Ontario Wildfire Update #16

Forest Fire Situation Update

Northwest Region

May 30, 2019 – Time of Report 17:39 

Northwest Region

There were no new forest fires in the Northwest Region by the late afternoon of May 31.

There were three active fires in the region at the time of this update, only one of which is not yet under control.

• Red Lake Fire 14 is located near the eastern boundary of Pikangikum First Nation. A total of 14 FireRanger crews and four CL-415 Airtanker aircraft continued to make progress today on the north and west flanks of the fire nearest the community. The fire is now approximately 2,993 hectares in size. Values protection (sprinkler units) is ongoing at key infrastructure sites south of the fire. Winds from the north are helping to clear smoke from the community.
• Red Lake Fire 13 is located 23 kilometres south of Red Lake, just west of Dixie Lake. At 18 hectares, the fire is being held.
• Red Lake Fire 12 is located in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, approximately 64 kilometres west of Red Lake. At 25 hectares, the fire is under control.

Fire hazard in the Northwest Region
The fire hazard in the Northwest Region is high throughout the Red Lake and Kenora district and most of the Dryden and Fort Frances districts. Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout and Nipigon sectors feature a mainly moderate hazard with pockets of both high and low hazard conditions.

AFFES staff deployed to Alberta
More than 200 staff members from Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services are assisting the province of Alberta with its escalated fire situation. This includes FireRangers, support staff and one incident management team. In addition, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is providing equipment such as pumps, hose and hand tools to support Alberta.

The sharing of resources across Canada is facilitated by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre in Winnipeg under the Mutual Aid Resource Sharing agreement.

The fire situation in Ontario has been relatively quiet since the beginning of the 2019 fire season, and we remain fully prepared to respond to any forest fires that may arise here at home.

Help prevent forest fires

Adopt safe campfire practices!  Choose the site of your campfire carefully and keep your fire small.  Stay nearby: never leave it unattended.  Put your fire out by drowning it with water.  Be sure that it is extinguished prior to leaving the site.  Stir the ashes with a stick to uncover hot coals and then drown it again.  You can never be too safe.

Consider alternatives to burning brush or yard waste, such as chipping or composting when possible, or saving burn piles for the fall or after the fire season. Use of outdoor fires must follow the outdoor burning rules set out in the Forest Fire Prevention Act of Ontario. Fires are to be started no sooner than two hours before sunset and extinguished no later than two hours after sunrise. Fires should never be left unattended and tools and water should be close at hand to put the fire out. More details on outdoor burning regulations can be found online at Ontario.ca/forestfire

To see a complete list of fires across the province click on our interactive map. You can also get the latest update on the condition of any fire by clicking the fire icon.

Fire numbers and online information:

• Forest Fire Reporting Number – 310-FIRE (3473)
•  Twitter account