Two new fires were reported in the West Fire Region yesterday—one in Thunder Bay District and one in Dryden District, the Ministry of Natural Resources’ fire management headquarters said this morning.
Meanwhile, one fire of note is Red Lake #14, which started Saturday from a lightning strike and has grown to 100 hectares in size.
Located about 10 km east of the community of Deer Lake and about 180 km north of Red Lake, the fire is smoldering with some smoking in the interior, the MNR noted.
Ontario FireRanger crews tied in hose lines around the entire perimeter of the blaze last night, and also have constructed temporary helipads for helicopters to land on and take off from.
Eight crews and two helicopters are committed to this fire.
Excellent work was done on this fire despite gruelling conditions of rugged terrain and long stretches of hose between the water source and the fire’s edge—some more than 2,000 metres long.
The ground crews will continue to tie in hose lines and work hot spots on the perimeter of the fire, the MNR said.
Elsewhere, good progress was reported on Nipigon #20 located northeast of Eabametoong. This 800-ha fire was declared “under control” on Sunday morning.
Some FireRanger crews are being released from this blaze while remaining firefighters are finishing the work of mop-up with hand tools.
There currently are nine active fires in the West Fire Region, including one in Kenora District, four in Red Lake District, two in Sioux Lookout District, one in Thunder Bay District, and one in Nipigon District.
These cover 957.3 ha in total.
There have been 191 fires in the West Fire Region since April 1, consuming 1,083.5 ha. Twenty-six of these were in Fort Frances District, having burned up 14.3 ha.
Call the forest fire information line at 1-888-258-8842 to access a recorded message on the status of the forest fire situation in the region.
To report a wildfire in Northwestern Ontario, call 1-888-284-FIRE (3473).
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
