Spike in forest fires in the northeast in the last 24 hours

There have been a dozen new forest fires since its last report, Ontario Forest Fires said Thursday evening. That includes four late Wednesday evening and eight on Thursday.

The new fires from Wednesday are:

Chapleau 11, is a 0.4-hectare wildland fire that is being held. This fire is located about 11.5 kilometres northwest of Foleyet.

Hearst 13 is a 0.1-hectare wildland fire that is under control. This fire is located west of Sweet Lake, about 45 kilometres northeast of Hearst and 35 kilometres north of Highway 11.

Sudbury 28 is a 0.1-hectare wildland fire that is under control. This fire is located along the channel of Matagamasi Lake, approximately nine kilometres northeast of Wanapitei Lake.

Photo taken by Frank Aquino, CL-415 pilot, on Aug. 21, as air support was arriving on initial dispatch on wildland fire Wawa 13. At the time of this update, Wawa 13 is 19 hectares and is not yet under control. (Frank Aquino/Ontario Forest Fires)

Hearst 14 was a 0.1-hectare wildland fire that is now out.

The eight new fires reported as of early Thursday evening are:

Timmins 15 is a 0.3-hectare wildland fire that is under control. This fire is located north of Hoodoo Lake, about 15 kilometres southeast of Foleyet.

Cochrane 36 is a 0.2-hectare wildland fire that is under control.

Timmins 16 is a five-hectare wildland fire that is not yet under control. This fire is located south of Bigwater Lake, about 10 kilometres north of Timmins and 0.2 kilometres west of Highway 655. This fire received joint response with the municipality in addition to aerial fire suppression support. An increase in fire activity Thursday afternoon is creating additional smoke, which may be seen from or impact visibility on the highway. For highway conditions, please refer to Ontario 511.

A photo of Timmins 16, taken Thursday just north of Timmins. (Photo courtesy of Jacques Nolet)

North Bay 13 was a 0.1-hectare wildland fire that is now out.

Sudbury 29 is a 0.1-hectare wildland fire that is being held. This fire is located about 5.5 kilometres from the intersection of Highways 69 and 637.

North Bay 14 is a 0.1-hectare wildland fire that is not yet under control. This fire is located on an island on Lake Temagami, about 28 kilometres west of Temagami.

Cochrane 37 is a one-hectare wildland fire that is not yet under control. This fire is located about 10.5 kilometres west of Highway 652, about 88 kilometres northeast of Cochrane.

Cochrane 38 is a one-hectare wildland fire that is not yet under control. This fire is located about 1.5 kilometres south of Nellie Lake, about one kilometre north of Jacobs Hill Road and 6.7 kilometres west of Iroquois Falls.

At the time of this update, there are 44 active wildland fires in the Northeast Region: eight are not under control, two are being held, 11 are under control and 23 are being observed.

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Fire of note is Kirkland Lake 5, located about five kilometres north of Stull Lake, five kilometres southeast of McKee Lake, and about 80 kilometres west of Latchford.

This fire is 889 hectares in size and is not under control at the time of this update. FireRanger crews and helicopters with bucketing capabilities continue to work on this fire. Updated fire perimeter can be consulted on the province’s interactive map.

The fire hazard is high for most of the Northeast Fire Region. There is an extreme fire hazard in the Far North, including Peawanuck. There is a moderate fire hazard along the Highway 651 corridor, around Kapuskasing, and for areas east of the Highway 11 corridor between Temagami and Gravenhurst.

There is a low fire hazard for the southeastern point of the Northeast Region.