Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry fire crews continue to battle three stubborn wildfires north of Massey.
The largest of those fires, Sudbury 17, was confirmed June 4 and continues to burn 5,857 hectare of forest three kilometres west of Madawanson Lake and 0.5 kilometres east of Pilot Lake. Multiple crews are committed to the fire, which is not under control.
Sudbury 10 was confirmed on June 2. Measuring 1,370 hectares and located three kilometres west of Fox Lake and five kilometres east of Acheson Lake, it is also not under control.
The third fire, Sudbury 19, was confirmed on June 4. It is a 459-hectare wildland fire located south of Shakwa Lake and a kilometre west of Lower Shakwa Lake. It is under control.
As crews battle those fires and for the safety of the public, implementation orders are in place in the area of the three fires. The orders are:
- All travel and use of Highway 810 (also known as the Massey Tote Rd) south of Ritchie Falls at UTM Zone 17 E 403972 N 5174771, and north of Madawanson Lake Rd at UTM Zone 17 E 409250 N 5158217, as outlined on the attached Implementation Order map within the EAO, is prohibited, unless authorized by a Travel Permit issued by the Sudbury District Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry (MNRF).
- All persons are prohibited from entering the area indicated on the attached map unless authorized by a travel permit issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
Regionally, there are 23 active wildland fires burning in the Northeast. Of these, MNRF lists 11 as not under control, two as being held, eight as under control and one as being observed.
The two fires exhibiting the most intense fire behavior in recent days are Cochrane 7 and Cochrane 11, which was confirmed June 2 and is burning 11,908 hectares of forest northeast of Lake Abitibi and seven kilometres southwest of Joe Lake. There are eight helicopters, heavy equipment and fire crews dedicated to this fire, which is not under control, the ministry said.
The fire hazard is high to extreme across the vast majority of the Northeast Region.
Due to the extreme forest fire hazard, a Restricted Fire Zone remains in place for the entire fire region of Ontario (Zones 1 to 36), until further notice. Open air burning is prohibited inside a Restricted Fire Zones, unless portable gas or propane stoves, which may be used for cooking and warmth but must be handled with extreme caution.
For a closer look at fire hazard conditions, check out the interactive map.