The high to extreme forest fire hazard is persisting throughout much of Northwestern Ontario.
Chris Marchand is an Information Officer with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
“Generally, it’s a busy time for firefighting in the region at the moment. Last week’s prolonged heat and low humidity values provided all the conditions you need to see lots of new fire starts daily on the landscape. Fire rangers and firefighting aircraft have been busy responding,” says Marchand.
Fourteen new starts were reported on Monday. Another ten were identified on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday night, there were 77 active fires. Twenty-eight are considered not under control.
“These fires are showing some extreme fire behaviour and producing large volumes of smoke that is drifting over the region. For example, Kenora 51 is now over 28 thousand hectares (in size),” says Marchand.
There are seven active fires in the Rainy River District. This includes the 407-hectare fire near Naicatchewenin.
There are five others located at the southern end of Quetico Provincial Park. All are small in size and being monitored by the Ministry as they are posing no threat to the public or property.
- A restricted fire zone remains in effect for the western half of the region, meaning no outdoor burning.
