Number of fires spikes across province
2018 total already above annual average as areas in north burn out of control
A massive swath of the province outside of North Bay continues to burn after lightning from storms triggered fires that are raging out of control due to high winds.
At least 3,000 hectares are in flames in the North Bay district, which stretches from north of North Bay to Temagami. Further to the north, another 12,000 hectares are burning in Lady EvelynSmooth water Provincial Park.
Numerous other fires are being held or brought under control while still others, in less populated areas, are being monitored — part of a trend in the province that already has seen 537 fires this year, compared to the 10-year annual average (360).
“On a day like today, where there’s a lot of sun, those fires not under control are expected to grow,” says Shayne McCool, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. A change of wind direction, from north to south on Tuesday, meant the smoke was likely visible to the residents of North Bay, he says.
About 20 residences in Temagami have been evacuated because of a 100hectare fire and the town, which is about 90 kilometres northwest of North Bay, is on a voluntary evacuation notice.
Fire rangers set up sprinkler systems to protect structures in the Temagami marina.
Police say there is a “dangerously close, active forest fire” in the area, according to The Canadian Press, and residents have been asked to drive north on Hwy. 11 to escape the flames.
The northeast has seen an increased number of forest fires this year. As of Tuesday morning, there were 69 active fires across that part of the province and 27 were not yet under control. Another nine were being held and the remainder were either under control or being observed. More fires were confirmed Tuesday morning after Monday’s thunderstorms and the ministry said in a news release it expected to find several more.
The “risk (of fire) is huge, because of the lack of precipitation that we’ve seen and the high amount of heat,” McCool says.
About 400 firefighters from Ontario are working in the area. A relief crew of 85 firefighters from Alberta and British Columbia arrived Tuesday. On Monday and Tuesday, water bombers were used to suppress the fires so crews could go in on the ground and surround areas with fire hoses, soaking the perimeter so the flames would move inwards. Planes called Fire Boss amphibians were also used; they can scoop up water from lakes and rivers, and were on loan from Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has restricted open fires in a large area from French River north to Timmins and from Sault Ste. Marie to the Quebec border. The ministry is allowing gaspowered stoves for cooking and heat, but McCool says they should be used with extreme caution.
If anyone is caught breaking the ban they could be subject to fines of up to $25,000 and three months in jail. The ministry investigates fires to determine the cause and McCool says they can litigate to recover firefighting costs. The Muskoka and Kawartha areas are also at an extreme risk of forest fire, according to a ministry rating, and there are a number of much smaller fires burning in those areas, some set off by lightning but others caused by people. Two crews are working on a 12-hectare fire near Parry Sound.
Meanwhile, there are thousands of hectares of forest on fire in the northwest part of the province.
About 3,500 hectares are burning 19 kilometres away from the First Nations community of Nibinamik, which is also called Summer Beaver, but the fire is moving away from the community, says Chris Marchand, a spokesperson for the natural resources ministry’s northwest region.
Another fire, 10 kilometres from Summer Beaver, is also moving away from the community. They were ignited by lightning strikes Sunday and Monday.
There are also tens of thou- sands of hectares on fire near the Manitoba border, where some fires have been burning for a month. Crews are monitoring the situation, but the area is mostly unpopulated and some of the fires will be allowed to burn out.
By comparison, Manitoba has had 316 fires so far this year, 38 of them still active. That’s up from 2017 numbers when 50 fires were reported in the first six months of the year.
Saskatchewan has had 355 fires, 28 of them still burning over the same time period.
Alberta’s fire control is divided with much of the north and a swath of the western portion of the province deemed forest protection area. Smaller areas of the province are managed by municipal fire protection. The forest protection region had 905 fires by July 8, up from their 2017 numbers for the same period, 725 fires.
B.C. had 605 fires between April 1 and July 9.