Ontario fire crews making good progress despite large area burned, minister says

TORONTO — Ontario’s fire crews are making progress fighting wildfires, the minister of natural resources said Tuesday, with dozens extinguished in the last two weeks and far fewer burning out of control than earlier in the busy season. More than 80 fires have been put out since the last update in July, Mike Harris said, and currently there are 152 active fires, with 12 burning out of control. “While we’re not in the clear here in Ontario yet, we are confident that we have the crews and the aircraft that we need to get the job done,” Harris said at a press conference.

Ontario has recorded its largest wildfire ever this year, at its peak spanning 3,500 square kilometres north of Thunder Bay — about double the size of another large fire in recent years. Firefighting efforts were hampered earlier in the season when a lightning storm caused about 30 new fires in a short time span, with some very close to communities, Harris said. “The weather in the northwest at the time was somewhere in the neighbourhood of the high 30s to low 40 degrees plus the wind and sustained drying – it was just a recipe for disaster, kind of a perfect storm scenario,” he said.

“There’s obviously lots to do as we move forward over the next couple of months. Hopefully, we’ll continue to see some more favourable weather like we have over the last little while, and we can try and keep things as under control as possible.” One fast-moving forest fire that started close to a community destroyed homes and buildings on Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation, more than 200 kilometres north of Thunder Bay last month. Residents self-evacuated and have been critical about a lack of warning from the government.

Harris said Tuesday that if fires start near a community, people do not have to wait for a Ministry of Natural Resources evacuation order – they should just leave. Fires have forced the evacuation of 14 communities across the province, and six communities have already returned home, while about 1,150 evacuees are still in host communities. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug.