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CBC
2 hours ago
- Climate
- CBC
New fire blazes out of control in Kawartha Lakes, Ont.
Fire crews in the City of Kawartha Lakes are battling a fourth active forest fire on Tuesday, said the Ministry of Natural Resources. The OFR001 fire began Monday afternoon as a grass fire and was five hectares in size, said a release from the city. That fire has now grown to about 35 hectares, said Evan Lizotte, a fire information officer with the Ministry of Natural Resources. "The fire is not under control," he said. "Personnel from the Haliburton Fire Management Headquarters are responding to the fire with five fire ranger crews and air attack." The fire is located about 200 metres west of Prospect Road and one kilometre north of Eldon Station Road in the Kirkfield area. While no evacuation orders have been issued at this time, provincial and city officials are requesting people avoid all active fire areas to allow crews to safely continue working. A news conference with the mayor of Kawartha Lakes and the Ministry of Natural Resources is expected Tuesday morning. Emergency responders were first alerted to the grass fire when smoke was spotted in Kirkfield on Monday afternoon, said Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on social media. Fire crews, water bomber planes and a helicopter worked to suppress the new fire on Monday. "Farms are actively moving their animals to safety. Please avoid the area," said the OPP post. Crews also battling 3 other active fires in the area The city's release said extremely dry conditions and four active fires are straining firefighting resources in the area. Kawartha Lakes is currently facing three other active fires. Of those fires, it says HAL018 and HAL019 are out of control, while HAL016 is under control. As of Tuesday morning, HAL018 is over 12 hectares and HAL019 is approximately 27 hectares Lizotte says both fires have "been tied in," meaning the crews have managed to prevent the fire from advancing further by keeping it contained. If residents spot any smoke, they're asked to call 705-324-2191 instead of 911, said city officials. There is a citywide 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. What should residents do with fires coming closer to cities? It's imperative for residents to know how to fireproof their homes and communities, said Vinny Gupta, an assistant professor in fire safety engineering at the University of Waterloo. "What we're seeing is wildfires get closer and closer to big cities and I don't think these problems are going to go away," he told CBC Radio's Metro Morning. Looking at the wildfires that took over residential areas around Los Angeles in early 2025, Gupta said these issues should be more seriously considered by government officials. Currently local municipalities in Ontario drive guidelines for wildfire proofing and design, but Gupta says federal and provincial governments should be part of that effort. "One of the key challenges is that we already have a lot of homes and buildings in Ontario, so we need to come up with fast solutions to retrofit … where we can fireproof them," he said. People should regularly clear yards and gutters for flammable materials and consider what their fences and decks are made of, he said.
CBC
a day ago
- Climate
- CBC
Fire rages in Kawartha Lakes as residents 'anxious' to see it end: mayor
Social Sharing 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." WATCH | Earlier this year, construction workers survived a wildfire by huddling in a shipping container: Workers survive wildfire by hiding in shipping container 2 months ago 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
CTV News
31-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Wildfire smoke triggers air quality warnings across northern Ontario
Environment Canada issued air quality advisories in Northern Ontario as wildfire smoke drifted into the region. Madison Marier has more details. Environment Canada issued an air quality alert for most of northern Ontario Wednesday as wildfire smoke continues to affect the region. Evan Lizotte, a fire information officer, confirmed that the smoke originates from active wildfires in northwestern Ontario and western Canada. 'Parts of Ontario are being impacted by wildfire smoke, drift from active wildland fires from the northwest region of Ontario, as well as western Canada,' he said. Forest fire smoke Areas in northern Ontario are under air quality statements, Environment Canada said Wednesday. Forest fire smoke drifting over a rural Ontario skyline is shown in this image. (File photo/CTV News) (Ontario Forest Fires file photo) Sudbury sees spike in health risks The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) in Sudbury rose from 6 to 8, marking a shift from moderate to high risk. Adam Ranger, an Environmental Support Officer with Public Health Sudbury & Districts, explained the measures being taken to inform residents. 'With that advisory, we initiated a communication to alert the public that there potentially could be poor air quality today and to ensure that they're taking measures to protect themselves,' he said. Widespread advisories across northern communities Northern Ontario Air Quality Warnings - July 30, 2025 This image captures northern Ontario Air Quality Health Indexes on July 30, 2025. (CTV News Northern Ontario | Data from Air Quality Ontario) As of mid-afternoon, multiple northern Ontario communities were under air quality warnings: North Bay and Parry Sound reported an AQHI of 7. Sudbury's index climbed to 8. Sault Ste. Marie reached 9. Thunder Bay faced the most severe conditions, with levels exceeding 10, according to Air Quality Ontario. Health officials recommend precautions Ranger advised residents to minimize exposure by staying indoors and taking additional precautions. 'During poor air quality, being indoors is a good way to avoid the exposure,' he said. 'So, keeping doors and windows closed. If you do have an air conditioner, put it on recirculate to ensure that it's not drawing air from outside back inside Local wildfires add to smoke concerns While much of the smoke is carried by wind from other regions, northeastern Ontario is currently monitoring 10 active wildland fires. Lizotte provided CTV News with some context on this year's wildfire activity compared to previous years. 'Compared to last year, this season has been… we've had more fires than that season prior. But in the ten-year average, we've had 472 fires on average and 197,000 hectares burned,' he said. 'So, we're below the ten-year average for fires in the province, but we're above in hectares burned.' No fire restrictions, but masks recommended outdoors Although there are no fire restrictions by the province in northeastern Ontario at this time, public health officials recommend wearing N95 masks for prolonged outdoor exposure and spending time in indoor public spaces to reduce health risks from poor air quality.
