Rain has helped ease the wildland fire situation in northwestern Ontario as of Monday.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services, only two new fires were reported.
Nipigon 93 (NIP093) is about 6 kilometres south of Kasibonika Lake First Nation. This 1.0-hectare fire remains out of control.
Nipigon 94 (NIP094) is situated around 10 kilometres west of Neskantaga First Nation, east of Kabania Lake. This smaller 0.1-hectare fire is currently being contained.
The total number of active fires has dropped from 127 on Sunday to 119 on Monday.
Out of these fires, 24 are still classified as out of control, which is a decrease of six since Sunday.
There are six other fires being held, seven that are under control, and 82 that are being monitored.
Many larger fires have shown little to no growth in the past day.
A fire within Wabikimi Provincial Park has been remapped and now measures at 307,271 hectares but remains out of control.
Sixteen firefighting crews from Ontario and Alberta are on site, along with two teams from Mexico consisting of twenty people each, heavy equipment operators, air support staff from Ontario and Québec, as well as an Incident Management Team tackling this and other nearby fires known as the Rinker Lake Complex.
Another fire located in the southeastern part of Quetico Provincial Park also remains uncontrolled and has burned approximately 25,279 hectares.
The MNR reports that operations staff are reviewing priorities and looking for chances to position crews strategically around the perimeter of the fire.
Fires in northern Quetico and around Lac Des Mille Lac continue to show low activity levels without any significant growth lately; however, they are still categorized as not under control.
Crews working on both these fires have been concentrating their efforts on putting out hotspots.
Firefighters from Ontario and Mexico remain engaged in efforts against a blaze near Upper and Lower Moosehide Lakes south of Ignace. This one is currently listed as being contained at 1,710 hectares.
Randy Thoms is a veteran news broadcaster with over 40 years’ experience. He is based in Fort Frances and covers stories across northwestern Ontario. Contact Randy at thoms. randy@radioabl. ca.
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