It was a busy day for the Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services program in the Northwest Region yesterday.
MNR crews were called out to assist Oxdrift and Dryden Fire Services with a fire near the junction of Hwy 502 and 594 just south of Dryden which caused the evacuation of seven homes. After several hours of intense action the including MNR water bombing helicopters and water bombers, the fire was declared under control by evening.
MNR crews were busy elsewhere in our district. Sioux Lookout District Fire Number 15 is a 10 hectare fire about 10 kilometers to the north east of Sioux Lookout.That fire caused closure of a highway in the Sioux Lookout area due to smoke and high winds Saturday afternoon.
.The Fort Frances District also received a confirmed fire within Quetico Provincial Park. Fort Frances Fire 12 is a 0.5 hectare fire on Batchewaung Lake.
The biggest fire is Kenora Fire Number 28 which is burning to the north of the Shoal Lake First Nation community.It’s not threatening the community which is several kilometers to the south and the fire is burning to the north.
The fire spread rapidly under high winds with multiple spot fires. By early last night it was reported at 350 hectares in size. Multiple FireRanger crews and four CL-415 heavy water bombers fought the fire through the day.
An Incident Management Team has been assigned to this fire. By last night, the fire was approximately four kilometers south of Highway 17 and smoke may be visible there.
The forecast today is another sunny and dry day across the region and the fire hazard will remain high and even extreme in the far north.
Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow which is expected to reduce the fire hazard, but thunderstorms and gusty winds will be part of the storm system which makes for windy conditions ahead of the storm and lightning strikes which may result in forest fires.
