9 active wildfires in northeastern Ontario, highway closed again

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is reporting nine active wildfires in northeastern Ontario on Monday.

"We are seeing a drying trend right now with weather being quite dry right now," said MNRF fire information officer Shayne McCool.

Smoke and flames seen from closed Highway 631 near White River. May 29/23 (Ontario Provincial Police)

He said there are 60 wildfires burning across Ontario.

Currently, the province is listed as high to extreme fire hazard, meaning fires can start and become out of control quickly.

Two of the active fires in northeastern Ontario are ranked as 'not under control' and are two of the larger fires located in the Wawa area.

"Wawa 2 is 105 hectares and not control at this time. Wawa 3 is 359 hectares and not under control at this time," McCool said.

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Thick forest fire smoke seen from Highway 631 near White River. May 29/23 (Ontario Provincial Police)

He said the MNRF encourages people to take caution while enjoying the outdoors or while riding ATVs.

"Just be aware the fire hazard is high to extreme and a fire can be started really quickly," he said.

A full list of active wildfires can be found here.

HIGHWAY CLOSED

Wawa 2, which started May 26, closed Highway 631 from White River to Hornepayne for less than 24 hours due to extremely dangerous conditions. It reopened briefly around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and reclosed around 2 p.m.

Thick smoke from an out of control forest fire hangs above Highway 631 near White River. May 29/23 (Ontario Provincial Police)

The forest fire is located 5.5 kilometres west of White river and south of Crocker's Lake.

The smoke from the fire is also causing reduced visibility on Highway 17 near Depew River, south of White River.

"The highway is open with officers on the scene monitoring the situation," OPP said on social media.

Wawa 3 started May 27 and is located within the Kakakiwibik Esker north of Highway 17. As of Monday night, it has grown to 800 hectares.