Fire rages in Kawartha Lakes as residents 'anxious' to see it end: mayor

CBC

3 days ago

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Water bombers and firefighters "are making good progress" as they continue to battle a forest fire in the Burnt River area, said the mayor of Kawartha Lakes.
As of Monday morning, Mayor Doug Elmslie said the Haliburton 19 fire "is not under control, but is being well managed."
The last Elmslie said he heard was that fire crews were considering tackling the flames from the ground.
"The last thing we needed was forest fires," he said. "We're anxious to have it ended as quickly as possible. So far, everyone is doing fine."
However, Elmslie did caution that weather and wind mean the situation could change at any moment.
As of Monday, about 27 hectares of forest are burning in the community northeast of Toronto, said Evan Lizotte, a fire information officer with the Ministry of Natural Resources.
"Seven crews will be dedicated to this wildland fire today," Lizotte said. "Air attack was conducted on the fire yesterday and is available today if required."
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Officials say Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service, the Trent Lakes Fire Service and multiple provincial crews from Haliburton have been battling the blaze since Friday, according to a news release posted to the city's website on Sunday.
The release said additional resources from North Bay crews were deployed to assist and aerial water bombers also targeted the most active fire zones on Sunday.
There have been three significant fires in the area in the past week and conditions are extremely dry, which is straining firefighting resources, the release said.
The city said the fire is burning in a heavily wooded area where ice storm damage left hazardous terrain, making hose deployment challenging.
It's suspected that an electrical storm on Friday afternoon started the fire, said Elmslie.
Mother nature has 'taken her toll': Kawartha Lakes mayor
No evacuations have been ordered but the city is urging residents and visitors to avoid the fire area and has closed off County Road 49 between County Road 121 and Bury's Green Road.
The Burnt River area, which is part of Kawartha Lakes, has a large wooded area, but is also is home to several farms and cottages, said Elmslie.
He requests that anyone with plans to visit a cottage in the area reconsider their trip for the time being.
If residents spot any smoke, they're asked to call 705-324-2191 instead of 911, said Elmslie.
"There have been no injuries to either residents or to the fire crews and we want to keep it that way," he said.
There is a city-wide total fire ban being enforced at this time. People are also requested to not fly their drones within nine kilometres of the fire for safety reasons.
While residents have faced several environmental challenges this year, Elmslie said the community has been resilient and united.
He said that he can't recall the city ever experiencing a situation like this in the past 25 years.
"Mother nature has certainly taken her toll on us this year with the ice storm and the winter we had," he said