Wawa-news.com Local and Regional News
Updated: August 17, 2026 at 6:05 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT).
There were no new wildland fires confirmed in the Northwest Region by the evening of August 17.
At the time of this update there are 82 active wildland fires in the Northwest Region. Of those fires, 7 are not under control, 3 are being held, 11 are under control and 61 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)
- Wildland fire activity across the Complex is low with FireRanger crews finding fewer areas of smoke and minimal open flame.
- A total of 284 personnel are currently assigned to the Rinker Lake Wildland Fire Complex. FireRanger crews from Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Mexico are continuing suppression efforts throughout the complex today.
- 14 helicopters are dedicated to the Rinker Lake Complex.
- FireRanger crews continued to clear hotspots across the complex, finding some areas with considerable heat. However, long stretches of the perimeter have now been cleared and rechecked, with no heat or hotspots detected.
- 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 is currently measuring 30,201 hectares and remains not under control.
Atikokan Cluster – Fort Frances 13 (FOR013), Fort Frances 14 (FOR014), Fort Frances 15 (FOR015)
- Over 100 personnel are assigned to the Atikokan Cluster of fires including Ontario and Mexico wildland firefighters, flight crews and engineers, overhead personnel, support staff, EMTs and an Incident Management Team.
- Crews continue to seek out and extinguish hotspots identified by infrared scans and demobilize equipment from areas where the fire perimeter has been contained. Helicopters are being utilized for crew and equipment movement as well as bucketing support as required.
- Fire behaviour has been low across the complex and is expected to remain minimal today as forest fuels have not yet dried out following widespread rainfall. Thundershowers forecast for this afternoon are expected to further limit fire activity over the coming days.
- FOR013 is currently measuring 25,313 hectares and remains being observed.
- 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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