THUNDER BAY – There were no new forest fires confirmed by the afternoon of July 15.
There are currently 17 active fires in the region. Five fires are not under control, two fires are under control, and ten fires are being observed.
Fires of Note Red Lake Fire Number 23 is 8 kilometers south of the community of Keewaywin. This fire is 96,535 hectares in size. Community sprinkler maintenance is ongoing. Crews are continuing to work on spot fires today along Donson Creek and Dawson River. Aerial ignition was conducted on the south side of Red 23 north of Hawley Lake. This helped to bring the fire to natural boundaries and will limit the fires spread to the south.
Red Fire Number 39 –The fire size is 44,736 hectares. Firefighters continue to establish hose lines on the east flank north to south of the fire. Crews are establishing hose lines around the north end of the fire. Crews are working to extinguish hotspots on the fire. Crews continue to monitor established sprinkler units within the community. Today, thunderstorms distributed various amounts of rain across the fire.
Red Lake Fire Number 40 is not under control at 30,212 hectares and is located near Nungesser Lake, approximately 40 kilometres north of Red Lake. Precipitation has assisted in suppression efforts. 51 crews are assigned to the fire. Crews continue to make great progress working hose lines along all sides of the fire.
Fire hazard for the Northwest Region
The forest fire hazard in the Northwest Region is generally low to moderate with more rain in the forecast.
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).
