Organizers with the Superior Classics Car Club will meet on Wednesday to determine the fate of the 2026 Terrace Bay Drag Fest.
Club president Ray Gionet was at the track on Friday doing some maintenance and fine-tuning in preparation for the 27th annual Terrace Bay Drag Fest, which is scheduled for the Civic Holiday weekend between July 31 and Aug. 2.
Gionet said when they race on Terrace Bay’s former airport strip each summer, there’s always a threat of wildfire.
“Everywhere is dry. We are going over the contingency plan on how we will handle it, and we’ll be deciding closer to Drag Fest whether it moves on or whether it’s postponed,” he said. “The proper way to do this is we have to really take a look at this threat and ask if it’s possible it could get here? And if it does get here, then we have to be able to be professional and make the proper decision.”
Among the factors that will be weighed at the meeting is, first and foremost, the availability of the Schreiber and Terrace Bay volunteer fire departments, which attend at the track during the races in the event of an accident or fire.
“If the volunteer fire departments are pulled away to work on an approaching wildfire, the track shuts down, Gionet said. “Without our safety crew, fire and paramedics, we can’t operate, and the track is shut down.”
Another aspect that will be considered is the Northwestern Ontario-wide burning ban. People are reminded to respect the ban and avoid any activity that could increase the risk of wildfire. Even a single spark can have serious consequences during periods of extreme fire danger.
Although there is no immediate fire threat in Terrace Bay, Gionet says they will be monitoring the situation. The air quality will also be considered.
“We still have 14 days left before Drag Fest, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that Mother Nature helps us out big time with this,” Gionet said on Friday. “We’ll be deciding at our next meeting that night, exactly what we’re going to do and whether it continues or not. We don’t want to let it go too far because we have vendors that are getting food, and racers that are coming from a long distance, so we don’t want to make the decision once they’re already on the road to us. The decision will be made well in advance of travel.”
