Environment Canada says the district should see little rain as dry conditions continue.
For most of July, the Thunder Bay district’s precipitation has been 25 to 50 per cent below normal, according to warning preparedness meteorologist Peter Kimbell.
“That’s probably going to continue for the next little while because the forecast is for warm conditions, borderline heat warning. We do have a heat warning right now in effect, but for areas west of Atikokan, not including Atikokan. But that doesn’t matter because everybody in Thunder Bay, Armstrong, Atikokan—everybody’s going to be warm, above-average temperatures for the next few days,” he said.
Kimbell said there will be a 30 to 40 per cent chance of showers or thundershowers throughout the week, but they won’t provide much relief from the dry conditions.
“When we have thunderstorms in the forecast or showers, that really tends to imply that there’ll be a lot of localized precipitation, so not generalized widespread precipitation,” he said, adding some areas will get anywhere from 10 to 25 millimetres of rain, but many areas will get even less.
In July, Fort Frances has seen 38 millimetres of precipitation, while Thunder Bay has had 57 millimetres. Atikokan had 83, and Armstrong got about 65 millimetres. This is all below normal, and the communities would normally be getting more than 100 millimetres of rain, Kimbell said.
The forecast for the next few days is going to put Fort Frances into the 26 to 27 C range, with up to 10 millimetres of rain expected Thursday. Thunder Bay will stay in the 27 to 28 C range, which will not put the city into the heat warning category. For the long weekend, temperatures will lower slightly to between 25 and 29 C.
“We should cool down a little bit by the weekend, but still normal conditions,” he said.
Ontario and Alberta crews are addressing potential areas of concern using pumps and hoses to extinguish any sources of heat. Helicopters are delivering water to ground crews in priority areas, helping to cool hot spots. Heavy equipment operators are constructing fire guards, helping to limit the spread.
The Atikokan cluster of fires—Fort Frances 14, 15 and 38—is not under control.
Fort Frances 14 is measuring 51,806 hectares, while Fort Frances 15 is measuring 42,279 hectares and Fort Frances 38, north of Crystal Lake, is at 44.2 hectares in size.
Sioux Lookout 72, near Cat Lake First Nation, is currently measuring 23,597 hectares and not under control. MNR Fire Ranger crews say they are making good progress on suppressing the fire, with bucketing helicopters targeting hotspots, and Hydro One has replaced burnt poles along the Cat Lake hydro line and power has been restored.
In the Brightsand cluster—Dryden 34 and 35 and Thunder Bay 54 and 56—remain not under control. Dryden 34 is measuring at 44,954 hectares, while Dryden 35 is at 22,461 hectares.
Crews are working to install hose lines alongside heavy equipment operators who are constructing fire guards along portions of Dryden 35.
Firefighters and bucketing helicopters are managing hotspots while heavy equipment operators are constructing fire guards along portions of Thunder Bay 56.
