THUNDER BAY – WILD FIRE Update – The Northwest District remains calm in terms of wild fire activity. In the Thunder Bay District, there were no new fires over the past twenty-four hours.
The forest fire hazard is low to moderate across the region.
Over the weekend there were 26 new fires reported, of these, ten are now out, five are being held, two are not yet under control and nine are under control. So far today, one new fire has been reported, North Bay 24 is being held at 0.2 of a hectare.
Currently there are 26 active fires in the region, two not yet under control, eight being held, eight under control and eight being observed. Three fires have been extinguished so far today.
The forest fire hazard for the region today varies from low to moderate for areas north of the French River and moderate to high for areas south of the French River.
Fire of Note
Fire Sudbury 38 is now 100 percent contained and being held at about 438 hectares. The Incident Management Team is now being released from this incident and the Sudbury Headquarters will manage the fire going forward. Crews remain on the fire line extinguishing hot spots and will be moving in from the perimeter to expand the control lines. The Emergency Area Order still remains in place restricting access to the fire and surrounding area. Please see below for information on the Emergency Area Order and the details of the restrictions that apply in the fire area.
Emergency Area Order
Effective 4:00pm Friday July 31, an Emergency area Order has been implemented for an area north of Sudbury, northeast of Halfway Lake Provincial Park in Northeaster Ontario. The order covers an area around the Sudbury 38 wildfire, Located east of Highway 144 as depicted in the attached map. While the order is in effect, road closures and travel restrictions may occur. For information about highway closures please call 5-1-1. For details of the restrictions to the area, the public should contact the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Northeast Region office at (705) 564-6146. Here is a map showing the area affected. NOTAM #150665 is in effect for the Sudbury 38 fire within the Emergency Area Order. Please refer to Transport Canada’s website for more flight details on the NOTAM.
Under the Emergency Area Order EAO 2015-1 declared July 31st 2015, the District Manager for the Sudbury district has ordered the following actions to be taken which he deems necessary for the purposes of public safety and/or effectual fire suppression.
- All travel on and use of any and all forest access roads and trails on crown lands in the Townships of Onaping , Scotia, Fairbairn, Dunbar, Emo, Rhodes, within the EAO is prohibited unless authorized by a travel permit issued by the Sudbury District of the MNRF.
- The use and occupation of crown lands within the Townships of Onaping , Scotia, Fairbairn, Dunbar, Emo, Rhodes, within the EAO is prohibited.
- The use and occupation of crown land in the townships of Frechette McNamara, Sweeney, Beaumont, Roberts and Botha within the EAO area will be allowed but user may be notified that immediate evacuation of the area may occur and must comply immediately vacating the area.
The Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services program is reminding people that they are responsible for safe outdoor fire management and must follow guidelines set out in the Forest Fires Prevention Act of Ontario including no day burning of brush or grass fires. Campfires are to be tended at all times and put out before leaving.
For more information about the current fire situation and the active fires map: ontario.ca/forestfire.
Report forest fires by calling 310-FIRE (3473).
