THUNDER BAY – Cooler weather is helping the fire situation across the Northwest region. The Ministry of Natural Resources report, “It was a quiet day for new fires in the Northwest Region following storm systems that tracked through the region on the evening of July 18 with no new fires reported by the evening of July 19. Significant progress has been made on two fires in the Nipigon District. Nipigon fires 040 and 041, located about 10 kilometers south of the community of Webequie. Nipigon Fire 040 started on July 01 and required aggressive air attack in its early stages. Ground firefighting followed and the fire is under control and expected to be called out soon. Resources are being demobilized from this fire”.
Environment Canada is calling for clearing skies overnight in the Thunder Bay region. Lower temperatures are helping fire fighters in getting ahead of fires in the area.
Forest Fire Updates:
MNR has provided updates on several of the fires currently burning in the area:
Nipigon Fire 041 also started on July 01 and proved to be a deep burning fire which required sustained ground work by fire crews. This fire is under control at 5.0 hectares in size and is expected to be called out soon. Resources are also being demobilized from this fire.
Sioux Lookout District is also reporting progress on fires in their northern sectors. Sioux Lookout Fire Number 031 is a 4,000 hectare fire located about 19 kilometers east of Bearskin Lake. This lightning-caused fire has been monitored with some suppression and values protection work done since its start in June. Sprinklers will remain on values southeast and east of the fire and the fire itself will continue to be monitored.
Sioux Lookout fire 047, which started on July 18, is an estimated 35 hectares in size and has had air attack. Located about 10 kilometers west of the community of Kingfisher Lake, the fire has received rain and five crews are establishing hose lines and line camps.
Work continues on Red Lake fire 024, located about 40 kilometers northwest of Red Lake. This 300 hectare fire is classed as being held and mop up and digging out of hot spots using hand tools continues.
On Red Lake fire 031, located about 50 kilometers northwest of Red Lake, a transition has been completed with the Darren McLarty Incident Management Team finishing and the Mike Monzon Incident Management Team taking over command of the fire.
Significant progress has been made on this fire and hose lines are being pulled from parts of the fire line, patrols continue on other sections of the fire and infrared scanning is being used to map hot spots that are invisible to the human eye. This fire is an estimated size of 18,556.0 hectares.
A low pressure system in the Hudson Bay area is pulling air from northern Manitoba and the northwest corner of Ontario across the far north, bringing smoky conditions. This is expected to last through July 20.
To ensure public safety, be very cautious with any open flame and make sure your campfire is dead-out before leaving! Report Forest Fires by calling 310-FIRE (3473)
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