Six new forest fires were discovered in the Northwest Region by the early evening of July 22, 2021, according to Aviation, Forest Fire, and Emergency Services.
At the time of the update, there were 153 active fires in the northwest region. 56 fires were not under control, 18 fires were being held, 21 fires were under control and 58 fires were being monitored. Eighteen fires were called out today.
Newly discovered fires:
- Dryden 80 is located near South Lake, approximately 20 kilometres southeast of Ignace.
- Nipigon 65 is located approximately 8 kilometres west of Nakina. The 0.6 hectare fire is being held.
- Dryden 81 is located west of Sturgeon Lake, approximately 75 kilometres north of Ignace. The 0.1 hectare fire is not under control.
- Dryden 82 is located near Selwyn Lake, approximately 50 kilometres west of Ignace, the 0.1 hectare fire.
- Sioux Lookout 108 is located near Mills Lake, approximately 16 kilometres northeast of Sioux Lookout. The 0.2 hectare fire is not under control and received air attack this afternoon.
- Nipigon 66 is located near the northern tip of Wabakimi Provincial Park, approximately 241 kilometres northwest of Geraldton. The 0.1 hectare fire is not under control.
The wildland fire hazard is low to moderate in the Kenora and Fort Frances sectors and in the far north of the Red Lake sector. High to extreme hazard persists in portions of the Red Lake, Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay and Nipigon sectors.
Fires of Note
Red Lake 65 – of concern to Poplar Hill First Nation
- Fire is sized at 16,651 hectares and is 6 km northwest of the community.
- The eastern edge of the fire continues to be monitored.
- Fire behavior has been limited by recent rainfall, lower temperatures, lower wind speeds and higher relative humidity values.
- An ignition plan has been approved for Red Lake 65 and an ignition will proceed when conditions are safe to put fire on the landscape to bring the fire to natural boundaries.
- Three FireRanger crews are assigned to protect the community and critical infrastructure.
- An aerial ignition team will work to bring the fire to natural boundaries. When safe to do so ground crews will be added with support from bucketing helicopters.
- The Ministry of the Solicitor General has coordinated an evacuation of the community.
Red Lake 51 – of concern to Deer Lake First Nation
- Fire size is sized at 51,926 hectares and is located approximately 24 kilometres west of the community.
- Recent rainfall, lower temperatures, lower winds and higher relative humidity values have limited fire behavior.
- Favourable weather has also cleared smoke from the area allowing for better conditions for aerial operations.
- Three crews are focused on the protection of the community and critical infrastructure.
- An ignition plan has been approved for Red Lake 55 and officials are waiting for the right conditions to conduct ignition operations to bring the fire to natural boundaries.
- The Ministry of the Solicitor General has coordinated an evacuation of the community.
Sioux Lookout 60 - of concern to Cat lake First Nation
- The fire has been remapped at 1487 hectares and is located 8 kilometres west of the community.
- The fire displayed limited activity in recent days due to weather conditions
- Community protection efforts are ongoing.
Red Lake 77 – Fire of concern to Red Lake
- Fire is not under control at 23,404 hectares.
- Red Lake 77 is approximately 28 kilometres west/northwest of Madsen and is located approximately 33 kilometres west of Red Lake. The fire has not moved significantly closer to the community as cloudy skies, higher humidity and lower winds have lowered fire behavior.
- A total of 30 pieces of heavy equipment and their operators have been engaged in building approximately 40 kilometres of fire guard in strategic areas.
- Crews have been working hard to respond to extinguish these new fire starts in the area.
- Crews are working alongside municipal firefighters to protect the community and critical infrastructure.
Kenora 51
- Fire is not under control and remapped at 138,945 hectares.
- Fire has been active over the past several days producing smoke at the local level.
- Crews are working to identify ignition opportunities to bring the fire to natural boundaries.
- An Incident Management Team is established on the fire
AFFES is currently responding to many fires on the landscape. Stay informed of the location, size, status of all active wildland fires in the province on the interactive fire map at Ontario.ca/forestfire