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Forest fire season rages in the northeast

8:52 a.m. on May 23 As of 7:10 a.m., Highway 144 remains closed north of Highway 560 and Highway 661 to Highway 101 Junction, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
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A massive forest fire continues to threaten Timmins and area, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, which supplied this aerial photograph of the blaze. Supplied photo.

8:52 a.m. on May 23

As of 7:10 a.m., Highway 144 remains closed north of Highway 560 and Highway 661 to Highway 101 Junction, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
 

Original Story

 

It's not even the first day of summer yet, and already the number of fires in 2012 compared to last year has more than doubled, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Last year, a total of 146 forest fires burned a total of 1,451 hectares of land. The 10-year average for forest fires in the Ontario sits at 178 fires, burning a total of 4,387 hectares.

As of May 21, the latest update from the MNR, there were 38 active fires in the province, burning a total of 28,272 hectares. Thirty-five of the fires were burning in the Northeast Region. That brings the total to 297 fires burning 33,085 hectares of land in the 2012 fire season, according to the MNR.

Due to high to extreme fire hazard and increased forest fire activity, the Northeast Region remains under a fire ban, which was put into effect May 16 until further notice.

Three fires in the Sudbury area, burning a combined total of about 19 hectares, have been reported by the MNR as under control, and all have been deemed to have been caused by humans.

Hot and dry weather combined with strong winds led to several new difficult fires in the Northeast Region on May 19 and May 20. Twenty-four new fires were sparked in the province on May 19 and a further 15 on May 20. Among these new starts were fires near the Kirkland Lake and Gogama areas that led to evacuations.

Fire Timmins 09 is the largest in the province, burning 25,800 hectares as of May 21. It is located approximately five kilometres from the Highway 101 and Highway 144 cutoff. Some cottagers were evacuated in the area near the fire, and an incident management team has been assigned.

Highway 144 remains closed to all traffic, from the junction of Highway 101 to the intersection of Highway 560 (Watershed access), according to the Ontario Provincial Police.

Kirkland Lake 8 is currently 2,757 hectares in size. The town emergency response team estimates a total of 300 people were evacuated from Goldthorpe Road (west side of Kirkland Lake), Goodfish Lake and other northerly lakes.

Wawa 4 was last reported by the MNR to be 3,300 hectares in size. An incident management team is onsite working with resources. FireRanger crews continued with suppression efforts, and are looking at doing an infrared ground scan. The fire is currently listed as not under control.

The fire ban includes the MNR districts of Sudbury, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Kirkland Lake, Hearst, Chapleau, Wawa, Cochrane and Manitoulin Island. No open burning, including campfires, is permitted within the boundaries of a restricted fire zone. Portable gas or propane stoves may be used for cooking and warmth, but must be handled with extreme caution. All burning permits are suspended.

For current information on the restricted fire zone, call 1-866-357-8422.

Posted by Arron Pickard 


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