NW Forest Fire Region Update – August 9

Updated: August 9, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT)

There were 3 new wildland fires confirmed in the Northwest Region by the evening of August 9.

• Nipigon 97 (NIP097) is located near Weitzel Lake, approximately 3 kilometers southwest of Parks Lake. The 0.1-hectare fire is being held.
• Thunder Bay 78 (THU078) is located near Argon Lake, approximately 11 kilometers southwest of Highway 17. The 0.1-hectare fire is not under control.
• Fort Frances 63 (FOR063) is located near Kendall Lake and approximately 1.5 kilometers west of Scotch Lake. The 0.2-hectare fire is not under control.

At the time of this update there are 112 active wildland fires in the Northwest Region. Of those fires, 12 are not under control, 7 are being held, 6 are under control 87 are being observed.

To access the current forest fire danger rating in your area visit our interactive fire map.

Fires of note

The Rinker Lake Complex – Thunder Bay 36 (THU036), Dryden 34 (DRY034), Dryden 35 (DRY035)

• A total of 26 wildland firefighting crews from Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba, two 20-person crews of wildland firefighters from Mexico, heavy equipment operators, pilots, overhead staff from Ontario and Québec, and an Incident Management team assigned to the Rinker Lake Complex.
• There are 15 helicopters currently assigned to this incident.
• Firefighting crews are patrolling for and extinguishing hotspots, consolidating hoselines, installing and maintaining values protection equipment and constructing helipads to allow for mobilization of equipment and gain access to more fire area.
• Heavy equipment operators are continuing to construct fire guards on portions of the THU036 and DRY035 perimeters.
• Bucketing helicopter operations are ongoing where required.
• The Dryden 35 wildland fire was successfully scanned using infrared technology early this morning. Thermal imaging allows operations to focus their efforts on identified targets in active sections of the fire.
• Values protection systems are being monitored and maintained.
• THU036 is currently measuring 301,240 hectares and remains not under control.
• DRY034 is currently measuring 45,800 hectares and remains not under control.
• DRY035 was remapped at 31, 478 hectares and remains not under control.

Atikokan Cluster – Fort Frances 13 (FOR013), Fort Frances 14 (FOR014), Fort Frances 15 (FOR015)

• A total of 8 helicopters are assigned to the Atikokan Cluster of fires.
• Low fire behaviour has been observed on all three fires.
• On the north end of FOR014 where water sources are scarce, FireRanger crews are patrolling the perimeter and using helicopter buckets to extinguish hot spots-working up to approximately 100 feet inward from the perimeter.
• Crews are patrolling the north and northeast side of FOR015 for hot spots utilizing bucketing support from the helicopters in often challenging terrain.
• A wildland fire fighting engine with a 4,000 litre tank capacity is now working in the Cushing Lake area.
• A total of 107 firefighters are working on various assignments across 2 divisions of Fort Frances 14.
• FOR013 is currently measuring 25,279 hectares and remains not under control.
• FOR014 is currently measuring 51,768 hectares and remains not under control.
• FOR015 is currently measuring 42,273 hectares and remains not under control.

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