Evacuation order remains in effect as Kenora 20 still 'significant fire of concern' for northwestern Ontario
Chris Marchand, a fire information officer in the northwest region for the Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services Branch, said Kenora 20 "remains a significant fire of concern" in the northwest region.
The fire, which originated in Ingolf on Monday afternoon, has since travelled approximately 43 kilometres to the north and has now approached to within 2.5 kilometres of the community of Wabaseemoong, Marchand told CBC News Wednesday afternoon.
"The community underwent an evacuation yesterday and at the moment there's just a few key personnel and firefighting staff remaining in the town," Marchand said.
"Today we're seeing CL-415 waterbombers providing air attack on the parts of the fire that are closest to the community, and crews on the ground are setting up sprinkler systems on the town's critical infrastructure and other priority structures."
Marchand said Ingolf is a cottage subdivision that is in Ontario but is usually accessed via Highway 321 from Manitoba.
On Tuesday the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry [MNRF] established an evacuation order and travel access restrictions to areas near the Kenora 20 and Kenora 14 fires to ensure public safety and effective firefighting.
Also on Tuesday, the leadership of Wabaseemoong Independent Nation issued an evacuation notice urging people to leave.
"Kenora Fire 14 is approximately 1,379 hectares and burning roughly 12 kilometres north of Wabaseemoong," the notice reads. "Kenora Fire 20 is now over 8,000 hectares, increasing rapidly and causing significant smoke and fire risk to Wabaseemoong and its members."
The notice from Wabaseemoong chief and council said they want to assure the community that people's safety and health is their top priority.
"Leadership is working diligently with multiple levels of government, MNRF, as well as community partners to establish all levels of support we can for members," the notice continues.
'Extreme fire behaviour and really fast rates of spread'
Meanwhile, Marchand said "extreme fire behaviour and really fast rates of spread have seen this fire grow to approximately 23,281 hectares since Monday afternoon and it remains not under control."
He said officials still do not know what caused the fire, but FireRanger crews and bucketing helicopters are currently working in the Ingolf area where it originated, maintaining sprinkler systems on the local structures and looking to where they can establish hose lines in that area.
Marchand said while he can confirm that there have been structures lost in the fire, specific information about those losses were not immediately available.
Looking ahead, Marchand said there is the prospect of some meaningful rainfall in the fire area, approximately 15 to 20 mm from Thursday into Friday, "which we're hoping will materialize," adding that "a rainfall event like that would help to moderate the extreme fire behavior we're observing and and buy us a little bit of time to get FireRanger crews established on some of these fires."
New fires
The MNRF said six new fires were confirmed in the Northwest Region as of the evening of May 13:
Kenora 21 (KEN021) is located on Indian Island in Lake Lulu, approximately 15.0 kilometres west of Kenora. The 1.0-hectare fire is under control.
Sioux Lookout 3 (SLK003) is located along Highway 599 between Savant Lake and the Ojibway Nation of Saugeen. The Ontario Provincial Police have closed Highway 599 to allow crews to work. The fire is currently measuring 2000 hectares in size and is not under control. Crews are focused on the protection of human life and values. The fire received aerial suppression support from CL415 waterbombers throughout the day.
Sioux Lookout 4 (SLK004) is located north of Mullen Lake, approximately 11.0 kilometres east of Sioux Lookout. The 0.1-hectare fire is currently being observed.
Nipigon 2 (NIO002) is located approximately 0.4 Kilometres south of Highway 11 near Wildgoose Lake. The 1.5 hectare fire is not under control.
Kenora 22 (KEN022) is located near the north end of Dogpaw Lake. Approximately 9.3 kilometres east oh Highway 71. The 0.1-hectare fire is not under control.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Wildfire that forced hundreds to flee on Vancouver Island now under control
Social Sharing A wildfire burning northwest of Nanaimo that had forced hundreds to flee is now under control, while crews are making progress on another blaze southwest of that city. The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) announced Saturday evening that crews made significant progress in fighting the Wesley Ridge wildfire burning on the north banks of Cameron Lake, about 50 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo in southeast Vancouver Island. Firefighters are still in the area patrolling and extinguishing hot spots, according to the BCWS. In total, the fire burned nearly six square kilometres of land and was previously listed as being held. At its peak, nearly 400 properties were under evacuation order due to the fire, and hundreds more were on evacuation alert, which meant residents had to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. Mount Underwood fire still burning As of 7:20 a.m. PT on Sunday, there are 75 wildfires currently burning in British Columbia, four of which are out of control. One of those is the Mount Underwood fire burning just south of Port Alberni, B.C., which is further south of the Wesley Ridge blaze. The Mount Underwood fire grew aggressively after it was first detected last Monday, and currently covers an area of 36 square kilometres, burning around eight kilometres south of Port Alberni. That community has been on edge since the fire first started, but officials said Saturday that the fire received more than 30 millimetres of rain on Friday, and fire activity had been reduced as a result. Evacuation orders and alerts are still in place related to the fire, including the order for the China Creek campground and the alert for parts of the Cameron Heights neighbourhood on the southern edge of the City of Port Alberni. The fire has cut off access to the remote community of Bamfield south of Port Alberni, as well as knocked out power to 500 B.C. Hydro customers in the area. On Saturday, the utility said it began work to restore power, but said full repairs could take up to two weeks. The provincial power provider said the work will include replacing 56 power poles and 70 spans of power line – roughly 20 kilometres in total.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Evacuation advisory lifted for Lavillette residents as nearby fire contained
Lavillette residents can now unpack their bags after the province ended an evacuation advisory Sunday morning. Residents in the northeastern New Brunswick community, located about 20 kilometres northwest of Esgenoôpetitj First Nation, had been on alert since Friday that they could be asked to leave on short notice. An 8.5-hectare fire located south of the community continues to burn. It is considered contained "within a bulldozed break or wet line," according to the province, but it is still possible for the fire to escape. As of 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, the Department of Natural Resources reported 34 active fires burning across the province. Seven of these are classified to be out of control. The Oldfield Road fire, near Miramichi, remains the largest fire at 1,402 hectares. A fire in Northumberland County, called the Chief's fire, has more than doubled in size over the last 24 hours. It is now 128 hectares. Another 100-hectare fire called the Beaver Lake Stream fire, also in Northumberland County, continues to burn out of control. A 120-hectare fire in Gloucester County falls under the same classification. Environment Canada has only issued an air quality statement for Miramichi and area due to wildfire smoke, but EMO is investigating reports of smoke as they get them. The Oromocto Fire Department said in a Facebook post on Saturday that it and other fire departments in the region, including Harvey and Upper Kingsclear, are receiving a high number of smoke-related calls. EMO requests members of the public not to fly drones above or around the fire zones. The weather could help with firefighting efforts today. There are some showers and thundershowers in the forecast. Showers will start early in the northwest and move eastward during the afternoon, according to Environment Canada. The day's high will be between 24 and 28 C. Rain is expected to end late Sunday night with a low of 8 C.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Cold weekend temperatures limit Kingston wildfire growth as fire suppression continues
Colder temperatures usually aren't exciting news, but this weekend it brought a sigh of relief for evacuees and firefighters. The province says Sunday's temperatures and low winds will help crews with suppression efforts. N.L. forest fire duty officer Bryan Oke said Sunday morning that there was no change to the Kingston fire's boundary size on Saturday. "We [had] some of the activity in the south yesterday but crews were able to maintain their relative boundaries," Oke told CBC's Weekend AM. The province says the Kingston wildfire is still active and remains around 9,519 hectares in size. A regional state of emergency also remains in place for the Bay de Verde Peninsula, from Bristol's Hope to Whiteway. Activity on the southern edge of the fire produced significant smoke in the area on Saturday, and it burned along the coastline in the evening. Throughout Saturday, six water bombers from N.L. and Ontario worked alongside two heavy-capacity helicopters and three light helicopters to fight the fire. Northerly winds cleared smoke in the area, said the province, which allowed ground crews to work without interruption for the first time in several days. The Canadian Armed Forces along with volunteer fire departments will continue to scan for hot spots and work on structure protection, said the province. In the north, a fuel break ranging 4 kilometres in length is now complete. The province also said the fuel break in Perry's Cove is holding. On Sunday, aerial and ground crews will continue to fight the fire at the northern and southern edges, including seven water bombers, a sprinkler line and four heavy-capacity helicopters. Ground crews and local fire departments are also continuing work. The province says forecasted frost and low easterly winds on Sunday is expected to limit growth and help with suppression. Small Point-Adam's Cove-Blackhead-Broad Cove Mayor Curtis Delaney said though the Kingston fire has now been burning for two weeks, there is finally a bit of optimism as weather conditions change. "This has been a long couple of weeks," said Delaney. "I know there's a lot of work that has to be done yet, but hopefully … we'll be able to get a good handle on this over the next few days." Martin Lake Oke said there was good news for the Martin Lake fire on Saturday. Winds shifted in the Rushy Pond area, which helped make good progress. The province says there was minimal growth overnight, and that the fire has shrunk to 1,770 hectares. Oke says drivers can anticipate seeing some smoke along Route 360, the Bay d'Espoir Highway, on Sunday. The highway will remain open in a limited capacity from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. There was a delay in aerial suppression Saturday morning, but work was able to proceed later in the day, including a waterbomber and a bird dog, as well as bucketing helicopters and air tractors. On Sunday, four waterbombers, a bird dog and a helicopter will continue the work. Ground crews will also continue in the cabin areas of Rushy Pond and Martin Lake. Paddy's Pond and Labrador The state of emergency and evacuation alerts for the Paddy's Pond fire were lifted on Saturday. The province says that the fire still remains active at about 318 hectares in size, but that it is "holding steady thanks to heavy suppression efforts." On Sunday, the St. John's Regional Fire Department, the Canadian Armed Forces and 20 firefighters from British Columbia will continue work on hotspots. "Crews are providing good reports there and saying it's looking good in that area as well," said Oke. Meanwhile in Labrador, another fire is burning in Udjuktok Bay, and is an estimated 340 hectares. Oke says that fire is being monitored and that there are no values at risk at this time. "Certainly we'll be doing the checks through the week," he said.
