No new fires reported in northeast, heavy smoke conditions persist

There were 35 fires active in the northeast region as of late Thursday as firefighters battle to get a grip on one of the worst forest fire seasons ever in the province.

Of those fires, one is not under control, five are being held, 10 are under control and 19 are being observed in the far north, according to the daily update from Ontario Forest Fires.

There have been 14 new fires in the Cochrane Fire Management Area in recent days.

And after a few days of rest in Sudbury, the 20-person crew of firefighters from Mexico are heading back to the Cochrane 11 fire, west of Fort Albany. The fire is 805 hectares and is being held.

The fire hazard varies from moderate to high throughout most of the northeast region with areas along the Quebec border and one area north of the watershed and south of the Highway 144/Highway 101 junction showing extreme values.

FIRES IN THE NORTHEAST

There were no new fires in the northeast region on Thursday and the fire hazard varies from low to high.

The central portion of the region is showing a mostly low to moderate fire hazard this afternoon after precipitation swept through the area.

Areas located southeast of Mattawa and generally south of Huntsville are showing a moderate to high hazard this evening.

FIRES OF NOTE

Cochrane 7 was confirmed on June 2. It is a 37,742 hectare wildland fire is located northeast of Lake Abitibi. Crews, intermediate helicopters, and heavy equipment committed to the fire. It is not under control.

Cochrane 11 was confirmed on June 17. It’s estimated at 805 hectares and is located approximately 5 km west of the community of Fort Albany and south of Big Island. FireRanger crews are making good progress suppressing this fire. The fire is being held.

After a few days of rest in Sudbury, this Mexican 20-person crew of Forest Fire Fighters is heading back to the Cochrane 11 fire, west of Fort Albany. This #fire is 805 hectares & is being held. To see where they are headed, see our Interactive Fire Map at https://t.co/hjyNBmO48D pic.twitter.com/D9DIPWE0PK

— Ontario Forest Fires (@ONforestfires) July 6, 2023

Cochrane 25 is located approximately 21 km southeast of Moose Factory and is 1.5 hectares in size. It is now being held.

Chapleau 3 was confirmed on June 1. It is a 3,916 hectare wildland fire located 2 kilometres south of October Lake and 2.5 kilometres west of Vichaw Lake. It is being held.

Chapleau 6 was confirmed on June 4. It is a 1,228 hectare wildland fire located 2.5 kilometres west of Morin Lake and 1 kilometre east of Bolkow Lake. It is being held.

FIRES IN THE NORTHWEST

At the time of this update, there were 62 active fires in the northwest region. Of those, 13 of these fires are not under control, seven fires are being held, eight fires are under control and 34 fires are being observed.

There were 12 new fires confirmed in the northwest region by the late afternoon of July 6.

Nipigon 36 is located approximately 15 kilometres southeast of Webequie on the eastern shoreline of Winisk Lake. The 0.1 hectare fire is currently being observed.

Nipigon 37 (10 hectares) and Nipigon 38 (2.0 hectares) are located approximately 32.9 kilometres northeast and 50.2 kilometres northeast of Windsor Lake respectively. Both fires are currently being observed.

Nipigon 39 (5 hectares) and Nipigon 40 (12.0 hectares) are located approximately 43.2 kilometres southeast and 23.8 kilometres southwest of Neskantaga First Nation Respectively. Both fires are currently being observed.

Nipigon 41 is located approximately 15.4 kilometres northwest of Kagianagami Lake near South Hartley Lake. The 0.1 hectare fire is currently being observed.

Thunder Bay 27 is located approximately 44.0 kilometres east of Armstrong, on the northern shore of Lake Nipigon near North Ombabika Bay. The 1.5 hectare fire is not yet under control.

Sioux Lookout 71 is located approximately 14.1 kilometres south of Pickle Lake and 1.9 kilometres east of Highway 599. The 0.2 hectare fire is not yet under control.

Red Lake 47 is located approximately 3.3 kilometres north of Lorne Lake in Whitemud Conservation Reserve. The 0.1 hectare fire is not yet under control.

Kenora 31 (0.2 hectares) and Kenora 32 (0.1 hectares) are located approximately 14.6 kilometres and 16.8 kilometres east of Highway 105 respectively, near Ord Lake. Both fires are not yet under control.

Dryden 24 is located approximately 3.2 kilometres northeast of North Road, near McIntyre Bay in Lac Seul. The 0.3 hectare fire is not yet under control.

The wildland fire hazard is predominately high to extreme across Northwest Region, with some areas of moderate hazard west of Thunder Bay and Lake Nipigon.

FIRES OF NOTE

Sioux Lookout 33 is located on the western edge of Wabakimi Provincial Park. The 60,394 hectare fire is not under control. Values protection is ongoing.

Sioux Lookout 44 is located on the west side of Lake St. Joseph. The 6,730 hectare fire is not under control. Helicopter bucket operations are providing support.

Sioux Lookout 53 is located 3.5 kilometres east of the Bearskin Lake First Nation. The 334.2 hectare fire is now being held. Crews continue to establish hose lines while helicopter bucketing operations provide support. Excellent progress continues to be made.

Nipigon 13 is located west of Ogoki Lake. The 37,868 hectare fire is not under control. Values assessment and protection is ongoing and helicopter bucket operations are providing support.

Nipigon 19 is located northwest of Ogoki Lake. The fire is now measuring 10,064 hectares and is not under control. Crews continue to establish hose lines while helicopter bucket operations continue to provide support.

Red Lake 28 is located 40 kilometres north of Lac Seul First Nation. The 19,177 hectare fire is not under control. Crews continue to establish hose lines while helicopter bucket operations continue to provide support.

STAY UP-TO-DATE

CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca will continue to monitor the ever-changing situation and will provide new information as it becomes available. Check back often for updates.

Click here to see smoke forecasts for your area.

Any health-related concerns about smoke, call Ontario Health at 811 or 1-866-797-0007.

#DYK that #AFFES utilizes infrared technology to gather #wildlandfire data? This Diamond DA42M-NG aircraft has been stationed in the Northwest Region, performing fire perimeter mapping, hot spot detection, and searching for new #fires on the landscape. pic.twitter.com/2FCKoJPOZX

— Ontario Forest Fires (@ONforestfires) July 6, 2023