THUNDER BAY – The overall hazard level is rated as low across Northwestern Ontario. This should give firefighters the opportunity to get on top of the major fires.
There was one new fire confirmed in the Northwest Fire Region by the late afternoon of July 18.
- Fort Frances 13 is located south of Seahorse Lake, approximately 45 kilometres southeast of Ignace. The 0.1-hectare fire is not under control.
At the time of this post, there were 17 active fires in the region. Four of those fires are not under control, one fire is being held, two fires are under control and 10 fires are being observed.
\Fires of Note
- Red Lake Fire Number 23 is located approximately eight kilometres south of the community of Keewaywin. The fire’s status is not under control at 96,535 hectares in size.
Crews continue to take advantage of minimal fire behaviour to identify and extinguish hot spots. The community is preparing to return evacuated residents to their homes in the coming days. A total of 13 four-person crews have been assigned to the fire. - Red Fire Number 39 is located southwest of Pikangikum First Nation. The fire’s status is not under control at 44,541 hectares.
Recent rains have toned down fire behaviour and helped the suppression effort. There are presently 40 Type 1 and Type 2 fire crews assigned to the fire. Flights have started returning residents to the community. - Red Lake Fire Number 40 is located approximately 40 kilometres north of Red Lake. This 30,212-hectare fire saw a change of status today to being held.
A total of 49 Type 1 and Type 2 firefighting crews are at work on the fire.
Fire hazard for the Northwest Region
The fire hazard is low throughout the Northwest Region.
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 a number of fires in the Red Lake area.
The Order restricts travel, access and use in an identified area 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, no person shall enter into the hatched area identified on the Implementation Order (IO-2019-04-Red05).
All travel and use of the Coli road, Sidace road, Bandit road Rita Lake Road and North Road is prohibited.
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.