THUNDER BAY – On August 10 the MNRF reported Red Lake #49 as a 5-hectare fire.
Overnight the flames grew to a 420-hectare fire that by 9 PM CDT required Red Lake Ontario to be evacuated.
Kenora-Rainy River MPP and Minister of Northern Development and Mines Greg Rickford provides this update on the situation as of 15:00 EDT on August 11, 2020. The efforts to evacuate remain underway.
Thunder Bay to Host Evacuees
Thunder Bay will be a host community, subsequent to a request from both Red Lake and the PEOC.
City Manager Norm Gales reports, “The MECG met this morning and made this determination. Dr. DeMille and the three emergency services chiefs all indicated comfort with and support for the decision, with Dr DeMille stipulating the public health provisions for COVID-19 must be adhered to.
“The situation today is much different than the situation in early March,” adds Gale. “The emergency in Red Lake brings high risk and the province considers it an immediate threat to life and limb. There is a high risk. We are working on our response now and I cannot predict how it will play out.”
