THUNDER BAY – There was one new forest fire confirmed by the afternoon of July 12.
- Dryden 15 is now out at 0.1 of a hectare.
There are currently 15 active fires in the region. Three are not under control, three are under control, and nine fires are being observed.
Fires of Note
- Red Lake Fire Number 23:
- The fire is currently 92,648 hectares.
- An Incident Management team has been assigned.
- Precipitation received overnight has aided in suppression efforts.
- Firefighters are continuing to maintain community values protection.
- Red Fire Number 39:
- Red Lake 39 currently covers about 50755 hectares.
- Observed and forecast precipitation has and will continue to improve air quality as smoke output from area fires is reduced.
- Observed fire behaviour on the fire has been reduced since this week’s rain.
- An Incident Management Team is at the Aviation, Forest Fire Emergency Services Forward Attack Base at Bak Lake.
- Crews continue to monitor established values protection units within the community.
- Firefighters continue to establish hose lines on the east flank north to south of the fire.
- No growth on the fire Thursday, the weather is keeping fire behaviour to a minimum.
- Red Lake Fire Number 40:
- This fire is not under control at 32,863 hectares and is located near Nungesser Lake
- Red Lake 40 is approximately 40 kilometres north of Red Lake.
- Recent precipitation has assisted fire suppression efforts.
Fire hazard for the Northwest Region
The fire hazard ranges mostly from low to moderate with the exception of the eastern portion of the region showing a high hazard.
Travel restrictions in parts of Red Lake District due to forest fires
Pursuant to the Emergency Area Order signed July 9, 2019, an Implementation Order has been issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry prohibiting access and travel in portions of Red Lake District where there are public safety hazards as a result of active fire behaviour from a number of fires in the Red Lake area. The Order restricts travel, access and use in an identified area (see attached map below) and may be modified regularly to reflect changing fire conditions. This measure has been put in place to ensure public safety while allowing fire personnel to safely and effectively suppress the fires in the identified area. Unless authorized by a travel permit issued by the Red Lake District office of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), no person shall enter into the hatched area identified on the attached Implementation Order (IO-2019-04-Red03).
All travel and use of the Coli road, Sidace road, Bandit road Rita Lake Road and North Road is prohibited. All travel and use within the perimeter of fire Red 39 and Red 40 is prohibited. All travel on the Nungesser road through Fire # 40 will be escorted traffic from 06:00 to 21:00 CST until this order is rescinded. Nungesser road will remain open after these restricted hours. If a member of the public believes that access within the restricted travel area is necessary for non-recreational purposes, please call contact the Red Lake District office to request a travel authorization permit. MNRF will review the request for access based on the rationale provided, local fire activity, and the potential fire risk.
Please visit ontario.ca/forestfire to view the current access restrictions and fire activity as this site is being updated regularly.
See the restricted travel and access areas on this PDF map http://www.affes.mnr.gov.on.ca/extranet/IO-RED03_EN.pdf (Note: this map gets updated regularly).
