THUNDER BAY – There was one new forest fire confirmed by the afternoon of July 13.
- Sioux Lookout Fire Number 30 is not under control at 4 hectares and is located near Hill Lake, approximately 77 kilometres northwest of Weagamow Lake First Nation.
There are currently 15 active fires in the region. Five fires are not under control, two fires are under control, and eight fires are being observed.
Fires of Note
Red Lake Fire Number 23 is 8 kilometres south of the community of Keewaywin. This fire has been re-mapped at 95,623 hectares in size. Community sprinkler set-ups and maintenance are ongoing. Crews are continuing to work on spot fires today along Donson Creek and Dawson River. Ignition teams continue to look for opportunities to bring the fire to natural boundaries on the south side of the fire.
Red Fire Number 39 –The fire size is 50,755 hectares. This fire is being managed by an incident management team as part of a larger cluster of fires. The fire has received substantial rain which has helped with suppression efforts. Firefighters continue to establish hose lines on the east flank north to south of the fire. Crews are working to extinguish hotspots on the fire. Sprinkler systems remain in place.
Red Lake Fire Number 40 is not under control at 32,863 hectares and is located near Nungesser Lake, approximately 40 kilometres north of Red Lake. Recent precipitation has assisted in suppression efforts. 46 crews are assigned with five additional crews expected to arrive today. Crews continue to make great progress working hose lines along all sides of the fire.
Fire hazard for the Northwest Region
The fire hazard is predominantly low to moderate with areas of high hazard in the far north of Red Lake, Sioux Lookout districts and along the north shore of Lake Superior.
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).
