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Seventeen new forest fires ignited in the region Wednesday

Evacuation alert has been lifted in Temagami, and that Fire Tower Road as well as the Fire Tower are now open
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(Supplied)

By the evening of July 18, there were 66 active forest fires across the northeast, of these, 28 are not yet under control, 38 are either being held, under control or being observed. 

That's up from the day before, when there were 53 active forest fires across the northeast. Of these, 21 are not yet under control, 32 are either being held, under control or being observed. 

This is according to the forest fire situation update put out by the province's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services division. 

There were 17 new starts in the region Wednesday, none of which have been declared out at the time of this update.

Where it had been previously quiet, the Cochrane sector now has 12 active forest fires. Five are being observed to allow the natural benefits of fire on the landscape, there are no values threatened in the area of these fires. 

Of note, Cochrane 14 is not yet under control at 400 hectares, it is located west of Tomorrow and Yesterday Lakes. Values protection (sprinklers on structures) is underway and will continue tomorrow as a precautionary measure.

Cochrane 8 covers 85 hectares and is not yet under control at the time of this update. Four crews and aerial fire suppression resources were on scene Wednesday, in the form of two CL415 waterbombers, a birddog aircraft and helicopter support.

Good progress is being made on Cochrane 9 and Cochrane 12 is under control at 3 hectares. Hearst 12 is not yet under control at 487 hectares. It is located northeast of the Mattagami River.

Two new starts Wednesday evening include Hearst 13, which is located 37 km north of Highway 11, southeast of Jog Lake. It measures 200 hectares and is not yet under control. Cochrane 16 which is located south of Natogami Lake, covers 0.1 of a hectare and is not yet under control.

Of the four new lightning starts in the Pembroke sectors, Pembroke 5 required aerial fire suppression in the form of a bucketing helicopter. It covers 1.5 hectares and is located east of Grant’s Creek Provincial Park. 

Incident Management Teams 

Incident Management Teams (IMTs) are in place in the region. They are managing priority fires in 3 areas:

  • River Valley Cluster
  • Lake Temagami Cluster
  • Lady Evelyn Cluster 

River Valley Fire Cluster:

The River Valley Fire Cluster includes two fires. North Bay 62 covers 2,500 hectares and is not under control, while North Bay 42 covers 350 hectares and is not yet under control. FireRanger crews are making steady progress on both fires.

Temagami Fire Cluster:

Due to the recent rainfall and the higher humidity, reduced fire activity continues to aid firefighting efforts on all fires within the cluster. Firefighters were able to call North Bay 53, North Bay 65 and North Bay 93, out. North Bay 69, which previously caused the evacuation of 20 homes in the Temagami area, is now under control. Firefighters, are now focusing on working their way deep into the interior of the fire to check for hot spots.

Crews continue to patrol and mop up North Bay 14, North Bay 22, North Bay 54, North Bay 64, North Bay 66, North Bay 75, and North Bay 80. All these fires are “under control.”

Lady Evelyn Fire Cluster:

A successful controlled burn was carried out to reduce forest fuels. This strategy will bring the fires edge up to natural boundaries, further reducing the risk of fire spread and eliminating the need for ground crews in that area.

Heavy helicopters continued to bucket water onto North Bay 72 Wednesday, co-ordinating with crews on the ground. Fire behaviour was more aggressive today with higher temperatures and lower relative humidity. Crews continue to establish hose line along the east and north perimeter of the fire which is approximately 11 453 hectares.

The fire perimeter of North Bay 72 is approximately 80 kilometres.

Resources From Out of Province

  • Saskatchewan has provided one 20 person sustained attack crew, two safety officers, one agency representative, one radio operator and an air tanker package. 
  • Alberta has supplied fifteen four-person initial attack fire crews, a 19 person Incident Management Team, two agency representatives, six division supervisors and two information officers. There are also three air tanker packages in addition to fire suppression equipment such as pumps and hose.
  • British Columbia has supplied twenty three-person initial attack crews, two 19 person sustained attack crews and two agency representatives.
  • Nova Scotia has supplied five four-person initial attack crews, one safety officer and one agency representative.
  • Prince Edward Island has supplied a four-person initial attack crew.
  • Newfoundland has supplied a four-person initial attack crew.
  • Northwest Territories has supplied five four-person initial attack crews, one three-person crew, and an agency representative.
  • Minnesota has supplied one air support group supervisor, a helibase manager trainee and a 20 person sustained attack crew.
  • British Columbia has provided Ontario with 1,080 lengths of 1.5” hose, 30 power pumps with tool kits, 30 intake hose, 230 fuel containers, 200 backpack pumps and 200 axes.
  • Alberta has provided 960 lengths of 1.5” hose, 50 power pumps with tool kits, intake hose, fuel containers, as well as 100 additional fuel containers. They’ve also provided 201 shovels, fifty pulaskis and 30 chest coolers.

Additional resources expected in the coming days

  • Wisconsin will be providing one eight-person fire crew.
  • Newfoundland will be providing one more four-person fire crew.
  • Saskatchewan will be providing five additional support staff.
  • The Northwest Territories is sending 1,000 lengths of 1.5” hose to the province of Ontario. 

Smoke concerns 

Parry Sound 33 created a significant amount of smoke along Highway 69, south of Grundy Lake Provincial Park this evening. Aerial fire suppression and ground crews were on site tonight. It is expected that this 30 hectare fire will continue to create smoke in the area tomorrow.

Many Ontario residents have reported smoke drift in their communities. Smoky conditions are expected to continue when fires are active, until weather patterns change.

Temagami area information

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has been advised by the Municipality of Temagami that the evacuation alert has been lifted in Temagami, and that Fire Tower Road as well as the Fire Tower are now open.

Travel Restrictions

MNRF issued an Emergency Area Order (EAO) for parts of the North Bay District due to active fires around Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater, Lake Temagami and the North Bay District.

For more information, visit here.



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