THUNDER BAY – There were no new fires confirmed in the Northwest Fire Region by the late afternoon of July 19.
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 changed this morning to ‘being held’ at 96,535 hectares in size. The fire is not likely to spread beyond its existing boundaries given the current resources committed to it and forecasted conditions. The fire area received significant precipitation overnight. Crews are working to extinguish hotspots and remove equipment from areas of the fire that are showing no activity.
- Red Fire Number 39 is located southwest of Pikangikum First Nation. The fire’s status is not under control at 44,541 hectares.
Current operations are focused on mop-up as crews have consolidated hose lines on the entire eastern flank of the fire closest to the community. Infra-red scanning continues to identify hot spots. Crews are working to consolidate the fire’s western flank and are working inward from the fire’s perimeter. - Red Lake Fire Number 40 is located approximately 40 kilometres north of Red Lake. This 30,212 hectare fire saw a change of status on Thursday to ‘being held’.
Crews continue to consolidate and maintain hose lines as well as extinguish hot spots.
Fire hazard for the Northwest Region
The fire hazard is low to moderate throughout the Northwest Region with localized pockets of high hazard in the Nipigon District.
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.
