the MNR
Three new fires were reported in the West Fire Region by yesterday evening, including one in Fort Frances District and two in Nipigon District.
Fort Frances Fire #11, located 65 km north of Fort Frances, was caused by lightning that likely struck several days ago.
The fire is smouldering and no problems are anticipated.
Nipigon Fire #25 is burning in a remote location between the districts of Nipigon and Hearst while Nipigon Fire #26, located about 40 km northwest of Nipigon, also was smouldering.
Initial attack on this fire was done by FireRangers on a helicopter out of Thunder Bay District.
It was expected to be called “out” by the evening.
Other fires of note include Red Lake Fire #7 and multiple lightning-caused blazes in the northern areas of Sioux Lookout and Nipigon districts.
An Incident Management Team is managing Red Lake #7, which is located about 100 km northeast of Red Lake and 45 km west of Cat Lake.
Very good work was done by ground and air firefighting personnel on Wednesday, holding growth on the fire to a minimum under extreme windy conditions for most of the day.
A successful burn-out operation was conducted tying the south section of the fire into natural boundaries.
In related news, the fire hazard remains “high” in the western portions of the region and a range of “moderate-high” in the eastern portions.
Rain is forecast for the weekend, and this is expected to drop the fire hazard across the region by Sunday.
While today’s forecast is for mainly sunny and dry weather, clouds and showers (with possible thunderstorms) are expected to cross the Manitoba border overnight into Saturday.
Then rain will move across the West Fire Region.
