Due to nearby wildfires, the Kasabonika Lake First Nation, a remote community in northwestern Ontario, has issued an evacuation notice for its most vulnerable residents.
Chief Matthias Anderson shared with on Sunday that a state of emergency has been declared for the community and plans are being made to fly around 70 evacuees to southern Ontario.
“Those are mostly elders, children, prenatal mothers and people with medical conditions,” Anderson mentioned, adding that they expected the evacuees would depart on Sunday evening for Thunder Bay and then head to Toronto.
This past weekend saw a significant increase in wildfire activity across northwestern Ontario. The province reported on its Ontario Forest Fires Facebook page that more than 50 new wildland fires have been confirmed in the region since Friday afternoon due to extensive lightning strikes. By Sunday morning, there were 59 active fires recorded in the area.
Five of these new fires are situated within a 20-kilometre radius of Kasabonika Lake First Nation. According to a news release from Saturday by Ontario Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services, one fire named Nipigon 16 spans over 200 hectares and is located south of the community; it is currently considered out of control.
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Fire and smoke captured by a resident of Kasabonika Lake First Nation. (Lloyd Lawson)
Anderson noted that about six fires were surrounding Kasabonika over the weekend, including two new ones that ignited on Saturday and are impacting the community. Another fire called Nipigon 12 was confirmed on Thursday; it’s listed as being over 1,000 hectares in size and is also not under control.
“The southeast fire has smoke coming into our community. And the one towards our southwest will possibly affect our transmission line, our power,” he stated, adding that right now they are relying on backup generator power since the grid line has been shut down as a precautionary measure.
As of Sunday afternoon, Chief Anderson mentioned there were no plans yet to evacuate other members of the community; however, he indicated this could change depending on how things progress with the nearby fires and discussions with provincial authorities.
Kasabonika is located roughly 450 kilometres north of Sioux Lookout and about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. It falls under Treaty 9 and is part of the Shibogama First Nations Council.
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