Northeast Forest Fire Update – June 9

By the time this report was created there were two new fires in the Northeast Region. Sudbury 6 is located on the south shore of the French River, approximately eight kilometres southeast of Ouellette. The 0.2 hectare fire is not under control. Parry Sound 3 is located approximately 11 kilometres northeast of Britt. The fire is out at 0.1 hectares.

The forest fire hazard is high to extreme throughout the Northeast Region.

For up to date forest fire hazard conditions in your area and to see where fires are located visit the interactive fire map.

Fire of Note – Timmins Forest Fire 2 (TIM002)

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is actively responding to a forest fire in Timmins District, known as TIM002. This fire is currently classed as Not Under Control (NUC) and is now estimated to be 6,000 hectares in size.

 

The fire is approximately 4 kilometres west of the community of Gogama. The fire is burning on the west side of Highway 144 and running parallel to the roadway. It’s a possibility that during the evening of June 9, 2019, the fire might cross over Highway 144 (moving in a north-easterly direction). Therefore, the Ontario Provincial Police have closed Highway 144 at the north intersection of Highway 661 and the south intersection of Highway 560.

Stay advised of changing conditions by monitoring Ontario511 or @OPPCommunicationsNER on Twitter, and Ontario Provincial Police-Northeast Region on Facebook.

Aggressive aerial fire suppression took place yesterday (June 8) and again today (June 9). FireRangers are on the ground attacking the fire’s perimeter in a strategic and coordinated manner. Today’s combination of warm temperatures, moderate winds and low relative humidity permitted TIM002 to grow and increase in size. However, the forecast is calling for precipitation and cool temperatures to move in overnight which will help air and ground attack efforts tomorrow.

At the time of this report, the following resources were assigned to TIM002:

  • 1 Incident Management Team
  • 11 FireRanger crews
  • Rotating through CL-415 Waterbombers and Twin Otters
  • 3 Helicopters
  • 1 Heavy equipment

Additional resources will be allocated as needed.

As a precautionary measure, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Timmins District has recommended to the Gogama Local Services Board, that a 2-hour evacuation alert notice be in place for residents in the Gogama and surrounding areas. The community of Gogama currently has a voluntary evacuation in place. For more information or questions related to the alert or voluntary evacuation, please contact the Gogama Local Services Board (705-894-2555) or the Gogama Fire Chief (705-288-7178).

This fire was confirmed on June 6, 2019 and like all wildland fires in Ontario, the cause of this fire will be investigated.

 

Smoke in Northeastern Ontario

Residents in areas north of Gogama such as Mattagami First Nation, Kenogamissi Lake, Timmins, South Porcupine, Porcupine and Nighthawk Lake may experience smoke drift. Smoke drift depends heavily on the direction of wind; when the winds shift, the smoke drift will also shift.

 

Fire numbers and online information

  • For up to date forest fire hazard conditions in your area, see the interactive fire map at Ontario.ca/forestfire.
  • To report a forest fire located north of the French and Mattawa rivers, please dial 310-FIRE
  • To report a forest fire located south of the French or Mattawa rivers, please dial 911.
  • Follow us on Twitter: @ONForestFires / @ONFeudeforêt

 

Prepared by Heather Pridham

 

Natural Resources Forestry
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