Tag Archives: forest fire

Thanks to dedicated fire crews and a bit of rain, the fire situation in northeastern Ontario has calmed somewhat.  Here are some quick updates:

Timmins

• State of Emergency lifted
• Access to Hydro Bay allowed. East side of Kenogamissi Lake still restricted
• Providing the fire situation remains stable, evacuated areas west of Timmins will be allowed to return home tomorrow.  The Ontario Provincial Police will escort property owners back to their seasonal residences.
• Timmins 9 fire in measuring at 39,518ha.  There are 110 personnel assigned to this fire.

Kirkland Lake

• The state of emergency for the town in Kirkland Lake will remain in place until further notice.
• All of those evacuated in the area of the Kirkland Lake 8 fire have been allowed to return home.
• While we knew the Kirkland Lake 8 fire, that burned to just within 3 kilometres of town was human caused, we now know that it was caused by a campfire that was not properly extinguished on the east side of Elsie Lake (also known as Beatrice Lake). This area is a popular recreational area that is accessible by boat.
• Ontario Hydro One has just finished re-energizing the 3 circuits damaged by the Kirkland Lake 8 fire.  These transmission lines  feed the underground & mill operations for both Kirkland Lake Gold’s Macassa Mine property and AuRico Gold’s Young-Davidson Mine in Matachewan. The mines have been without power for their operations since the fire started on May 20th just north of Kirkland Lake Gold’s property on the west side of the Town of Kirkland Lake.
• Kirkland Lake 8 fire is still measuring at 2,635 ha.  There are 83 personnel assigned to this fire.
• Kirkland Lake 13 is currently 696 ha in size located between area of Twitchgrass Lake and Hilda Lake, west of Hwy. 65. Values protection in the area has been taking place, and additional crews were added to this fire yesterday to aid in the effort. The fire is not currently considered a threat to the Elk Lake or Matachewan areas.

Cochrane

• Cochrane 10 is 159 ha and is Being Held with line consolidating and crews patrolling.

Hearst

• Hearst 9 is confirmed as 970 ha with on-going values protection with air attack working the fire.

There are 24 active fires in the northeast region with 48276.8 ha burned to date.

There are presently 102 personnel from British Columbia in Ontario. Additional firefighters from western Canada will be arriving in Ontario on Monday May 27. These out of province resources are being added to ensure adequate capacity remains in place when Ontario FireRanger crews begin recycling onto their required days off. There are also waterbombers from Newfoundland and Manitoba working in the province. Ontario is grateful for all the assistance it has received from its fellow provinces over the last several weeks.

The weather is much cooler and the humidity has moved out of northeastern Ontario.  However the fire hazard still remains very high and the restricted fire zone is still in effect.

For forest fire links for all across Canada, visit ForestTalk’s new page: Forest Fire Links

The following shots are of hot spots in the interior of Timmins 9 fire at night on May 26 2012 at 2am.

Due to heavy smoke during the day, the exact fire perimeter was difficult to locate.

Using night vision goggles, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources pilots mapped the fire’s edge.

Several new fires started today in northeastern Ontario.

Road Closures

Highway 144 is closed in the Gogama area, north of Highway 560 and Highway 661 to Highway 101 Junction.

Highway 101 is closed in the Timmins area between Highway 144 and Foleyet.

Highway 65 is closed from Matachewan to Elk Lake.

Kirkland Lake Area

There is a lot of smoke blowing into Kirkland Lake at this hour from the Timmins 9 fire.

Only 2mm of rain fell on the Kirkland Lake 8 fire northwest of the town. This fire was remapped today and is 2,635 hectares in size rather than 2,757 as previously reported.

Waterbombers have worked on Kirkland Lake 13 all day today along with bulldozers and ground crews.  More crews are on their way to help with this fire. This fire is now over 1,000 hectares and is not under control. The fire is not currently considered a threat to Elk Lake, Matachewan or surrounding areas.

Timmins Area

The gusty westerly winds pushed the track of Timmins 9 to the east today.

Timmins 9 has recently  jumped Highway 144.

Heavy winds hampered suppression efforts this afternoon.

Timmins 15 started today.  This fire was human caused and is currently 5 ha.  The Old Mill Campground was evacuated due to this new fire.

Cochrane Area

There are been 4 new fires start in the Cochrane area today.

Wawa Area

Wawa 17 is 150 ha in size and is located 20 km west of Duberville.  The fire has responded to aggressive air attack and crews are protecting values with sprinklers.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources took these photos from the Timmins 9 forest fire in northeastern Ontario yesterday.

Click on any photo to view a larger version.

Many thanks to the OMNR for sharing these photos.

For daily updates on the Ontario Fire Situation from the OMNR’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services department, bookmark Current Fire Situation

There are 43 fires burning in Ontario right now.  41 of them are in northeastern Ontario.  Lightning started more fires yesterday and thunderstorms are possible this morning.

Timmins

The Timmins 9 forest fire is now 31,660 hectares, and covers 250 km².

It just started raining in Timmins this morning.  The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) is hopeful the rain will have some impact on the fires.

Gas stations in Timmins were very busy yesterday as people prepared for the worst.

As for road closures, Highway 101 is closed from the Junction of Highway 144 to Foleyet.  Near Gogama, Highway 144 is closed north of Highway 560 and Highway 661 to Highway 101 Junction.

Timmins 13 was reported yesterday on Kamiskotia Road.  This fire is now contained.

Kirkland Lake

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Heather Pridham  says today will be a challenging day due to the weather.  Wind gusts are over 40 km/hr this morning.  The wind is expected to shift from the  south to west with minimal precipitation.  There is concern that the approaching cold front will bring lightning.

Kirkland Lake 8 grew about 100 ha in the northwest tip yesterday. Yesterday the fire received air attacks on west flank most of the day using helicopters.  Infra-red scans yesterday showed hot spots on the east and west flanks of the fire.

Sprinklers are still set up to protect buildings.  The evacuation of residents in the fire areas will be re-evaluated tomorrow (Saturday) at the earliest.

The Kirkland Lake area had 3 new fires reported yesterday – all started by lightning.

Kirkland Lake 11 is located 20km south of Kirkland Lake near Hough Lake and is 58 hectares in size.  Highways were temporary closed yesterday afternoon. Waterbombers strategically attacked the fire and were able to save the homes and cottages. 7 ground crews are assigned to that fire. Hose line should be laid all around fire today. This fire is burning to the northeast of Hough Lake so it is not burning towards Kirkland Lake.

Kirkland Lake 12 fire is located 1km east of Boston Creek and is 1 ha in size. There are 2 crews assigned to this fire and it is burning away from Kirkland Lake and isn’t a threat to town. This fire is expected to be  wrapped up in the next couple of days.

Kirkland Lake 13 is 1,000 hectares in size and is located between Elk Lake and Matachewan, about  5km of Highway 65.  The Golden Eagle Lake Camp was evacuated yesterday. Value protections are ongoing at that camp with sprinkler systems.  The OMNR hopes to save the camp.  The communities of Matachewan & Elk Lake are not at risk at this time.  There are 6 bull dozers assigned to this fire.  They will be building fire guards at the rear and on the east and west flank.  There are 3 ground crews on the scene now, and more are coming today.  The northeast section of this fire area has a rough terrain, so this is expected to be will be difficult for the crews.

Waterbombers were able to attack all 3 new fires from the air yesterday.  This helped knock down the flames and the head of the fire to allow ground crews to get in with their hoses.

With today’s forecast wind change, the smoke from the Timmins 9 fire will likely drift into Kirkland Lake.

Kirkland Lake’s town council met this morning to release $100,000 from their reserve fund to be used if more evacuations are necessary.

Premier McGuinty flew into Kirkland Lake yesterday afternoon to visit the firefighters. Media was not invited.

Hydro One also has 80-100 workers working near Kirkland Lake to reestablish the power to the gold mines.

See a map of Ontario’s current forest fires

Source:

Information updates from  CJKL and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Heather Pridham

To monitor current lightning activity in Ontario, visit Lightning Activity from Environment Canada.

Timmins Update

The Timmins 9 forest fire near Gogama in northeastern Ontario grew today to over 29,000 hectares.

The sky has been ominous with smoke in Timmins this afternoon prompting officials to issue a special weather statement due to the widespread smoke in the air.  Anyone is respiratory problems is being urged to stay indoors.  The smoke is also blowing blanketing Gogama and north into Cochrane.

The west end of Timmins is currently under a state of emergency due to the poor air quality.

It is possible that the fire will cross Highway 144 tonight, and possibly Highway 101, as the wind pushes the fire towards Timmins.

Residents in the areas south of Hydro Bay to north of Lamotte Lake Road are currently being evacuated. This includes the areas east of Kenogamissi.

The Mattagami First Nation has declared an emergency and 118 residents have been evacuated to Kapuskasing.

More fires are starting in today’s dry, windy conditions.  The new Timmins fire 13 is already 2.5 ha.  The wind is expected to change tomorrow and there is a chance of thunderstorms in the morning.

Kirkland Lake Update

A new fire broke out 25 km south of Kirkland Lake this afternoon in the Hough Lake area.  The fire grew from 3 to 30 hectares in very short order. The Ontario Provincial Police started evacuating residents in the area.   Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources crews attacked the fire with water bombers and helicopters, bringing the fire under control.  Highway 11 and 112 were closed for a part of this afternoon, but both have reopened.  The evacuated residents will be notified soon if they can return home.

Schools are closed tomorrow in the Kirkland Lake area as a precautionary measure.

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Heather Pridham spoke on Kirkland Lake‘s CJKL radio station moments ago to provide an update on the fire (KL-8) that is 3km from town.

The fire is roughly 10km long, and narrow.  The fire has not moved or gained in size, and is laying dormant at 2757 ha.

Kirkland Lake residents are still urged to keep an evacuation kit ready, including 3 days of clothes and supplies (food & water).

About 300 people in the fire area are still evacuated.  Sprinklers are being used to protect cottages and structures near the fire.

An emergency order is still in place to keep people out of the fire area.

Yesterday

Yesterday there were no open flames in the fire area.  75-100 ground crew members searched the fire for hotspots. When they were found, one of 5 helicopters were called in to attack the fire with buckets from the air.  No waterbomber runs were required yesterday.

Crews also worked yesterday with heavy equipment to break apart slash piles inside the fire zone. This caused significant smoke as helicopters help extinguish the slash piles.

Today

Infrared scanning was performed from the air this morning to identify the hot spots to be attacked by ground crews today.

It is windy today, with gusts.  The relative humidity is low.  These conditions have the potential to stir up the fire today.  Pridham said they have crews on ground, and aircraft in the air to monitor the fire today.

Northeastern Ontario

Northeastern Ontario’s forest fire hazard is classified as extreme.  A restricted fire zone is in place.

Source: CJKL

A forest fire started late this afternoon near Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The fire is raging in the Williams Lake area of Halifax – between Purcells Cove and Herring Cove roads in a wooded area known as the barrens.

Several square kilometres have already burned, leading to the evacuation of all the houses along a section of Purcells Cove Road.

Several roads have been blocked off.

Two helicopters from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources are now attacking the fire.

This is the same area where a brush fire destroyed several homes in 2009.

Read more:
Firefighters battle forest fire near Spryfield (Chronicle Herald)
Brush fire in Halifax forces evacuation (CBC)

About 300 residents near Kirkland Lake, Ontario were served evacuation notices yesterday when a 1,500 ha forest fire was discovered burning near town.

Crews from the Kirkland Lake Fire Department worked yesterday with crews from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to fight the fire. Water bombers are being used to tackle the blaze from the air.

Residential and cottage areas on Goodfish and Nettie Lake and in Chaput Hughes were evacuated Sunday afternoon and residents were still unable to return home today.

At noon today (Monday), the fire is now 2,757 ha in size.

The fire has damaged several power poles, disrupting power to the AuRico Gold Inc.’s Young-Davidson gold mine and to Kirkland Lake Gold. Kirkland Lake Gold was able to evacuate its gold mine and is leaving a skeleton crew onsite to secure the mine.

Read more:
Forest Fire in Kirkland Lake (MooseFM)
Fires force evacuations near Kirkland Lake, Timmins (North Bay Nugget)
300 evacuate forest fire in Kirkland Lake (Toronto Sun)

Alberta

12 homes were evacuated yesterday when the wind direction changed for the Bonneyville fire. Bonnyville declared a local state of emergency on Tuesday, which allows officials to call in the RCMP to secure roads and homes, if necessary. The Bonneyville fire grew to about 800 ha yesterday.

The fire near Grassland is still out of control and measures about 1,000 ha.

The fire near Lodgepole is currently being held.

Alberta has issued a fire ban for most of the forested areas of the province.

Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of the devastating wildfire that destroyed nearly one third of Slave Lake.

Manitoba

Fires in southeastern Manitoba are continuing to grow under fierce wind conditions.

British Columbia sent 41 firefighting personnel to Manitoba yesterday to help Manitoba’s crews. two water bombers have arrived from Quebec. Two other water bombers have arrived from Minnesota.

Because of an increase in the number of fires and fire activity, the Province of Manitoba is requesting additional resources through the Canadian Interagency Fire Fighting Centre. The centre allows for the mutual sharing of resources between B.C. and other jurisdictions.

Campfires have been banned in all provincial parks in Manitoba’s southeast. Back country travel is restricted to permit holders only.

Ontario

Many new fires have started across northern Ontario this week.

“So far this season, we’ve had very dry conditions and today we’ve had almost double the fires we had last year at this time,” says Lindsay Marks, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources northeast fire information officer. “We had an earlier spring this year. The snow melted so fast and it ran off rather than infiltrated into the ground. So the ground was that much drier. And we’re experienced little precipitation.”

The Northeast Fire Region is now a restricted fire zone due to extreme fire hazard.

Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia a brush fire near Stewiacke led to one evacuated house, and a couple more on standby yesterday.  Two helicopters attacked the fire from the air while crews made progress from the ground.  60 volunteer firefighters helped contain the fire.  There is no word yet on the cause of the fire.

Sources:
Alberta wildfire prompts evacuation of 12 homes (CBC)
B.C. crews to assist Manitoba’s firefighting efforts (Government of British Columbia)
Home evacuated in Colchester County brush fire (CBC)
Fire crews watch for flare-ups near Stewiacke (CBC)
Situation Report – May 15, 2012 (CIFFC)
Forest fire threatens homes near Bonnyville (Calgary Herald)
Fire Update May 15, 2012 (Government of Manitoba)
Short winter might translate into long forest fire season — official (The Sault Star)
Fire fight gets backup help (Winnipeg Free Press)