Two new fires were discovered in the region by the late afternoon of Saturday, July 31, according to the Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services.
There are 116 active fires in the northwest region. A total of 29 fires are not under control, 10 are being held, 16 are under control and 61 are being observed. Twelve fires were called out today.
Ontario has reached 1,018 wildland fires in 2021, 843 in the Northwest region. This more than doubles the 455 fires recorded provincially at this time last year. The ten-year average for fires across the province for this time of year is 572.
The wildland fire hazard is mainly low to moderate throughout the region with pockets of high to extreme hazard in the Fort Frances district.
The new fires are;
- Dryden 107 is located near Boundary Lake, approximately 32 kilometres north of Dryden. The 0.1 hectare fire is being held.
- Kenora 133 is located near Segise Lake, approximately 79 kilometres northeast of Kenora. The 0.6 hectare fire is not under control.
Fires of Note
- Red Lake 65 – fire of concern to Poplar Hill
- Poplar Hill weather station received 12.7 mm of rainfall overnight.
- Also known as the Stout Lake fire, Red 65 is 18,330 hectares and located 6 kilometres west of the community.
- The fire received rain on July 30th, as a result the fire behaviour was limited.
- An ignition plan has been approved for when conditions allow the team to safely tie the fire into to natural boundaries.
- An Incident Management Team has been assigned to oversee this fire.
- Red Lake 51 – fire of concern to Deer Lake
- Red Lake 51 is 52,106 hectares and located approximately 24 kilometres west of the community.
- The fire received rain on July 30 which helped to limit fire behaviour.
- The Community Values Protection Team has completed work on the community and critical infrastructure and is monitoring and maintaining the equipment.
- An Incident Management Team (Garry Harland) has been assigned to oversee this fire.
- Community evacuation complete, only essential workers remain.
- Sioux Lookout 60 – fire of concern to Cat Lake First Nation
- The fire is 1487 hectares and located 8 kilometres west of the community.
- A weather station at Cat Lake received 8.1 mm of rain overnight.
- The fire displayed limited activity in recent days due to weather conditions
- Community protection efforts are ongoing.
- Crews are working hoselines on the fire.
- An Incident Management Team from Nova Scotia is managing the fire.
- Red Lake 77 – fire of concern to Red Lake
- The fire is not under control – 30,519 ha – 33 km west of Red Lake.
- Fireguard continues to be built east of the fire, heavy equipment is making good progress.
- Visibility over the fire was low in the morning, clearing in the afternoon.
- Fire behaviour was decreased due to some precipitation and higher humidity.
- Crews have been mobilized to begin working a portion of the northeast corner.
- Kenora 51
- Fire is not under control and is 171,148 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.
- Bucketing helicopters and air attack are being used as required.
- Crews are establishing hoselines in strategic spots to limit the fire’s spread.
- An Incident Management Team is established on the fire.