Wawa FD called to Backyard Bonfire during RFZ

Last night, just after 10 p.m. the Wawa Fire Department was called to a residence in Wawa that had a bonfire in the backyard. Firefighters extinguished the bonfire before leaving.

Wawa is in a restricted fire zone as established by the MNR effective July 18 at 12:01 a.m. local time.

There are currently 54 active wildland fires in the Northeast Region. Of these fires: 6 are not under control, 17 are under control and 31 are being observed.

Wawa remains under a yellow alert from Environment Canada for smoke causing poor air quality and reduced visibility. These conditions may continue until Monday evening.

Northeast Region Restricted Fire Zone (RFZ)

Due to the high to extreme fire hazard, increased  wildland fire activity, the current fire load and to reduce the number of human-caused wildland fires, the Ministry of Natural Resources will be implementing an additional section of the  RFZ effective July 18 at 12:01 a.m. local time for a portion of the Northeast Region.

The additional areas impacted are from the mouth of the Pic River on Lake Superior, north along the Pic River to the Sandlink Lake area, east to the Ontario–Quebec border through portions of Cochrane District, south to the southeast corner of Cochrane District, west to the area of Opishing Lake, following the borders of Cochrane, Sudbury and Algoma Districts to the area of Easey Lake, south to the Montreal River, west to Lake Superior, and west along the Canada–United States border to the mouth of the Pic River.

This order is required to reduce the number of human-caused wildland fires. We are expecting the current fire hazard to remain, along with the potential for problematic fires to continue and expect a continuation of the increased forest fire activity into the foreseeable future.

No open air burning, including campfires, is permitted within the boundaries of a RFZ. Portable gas or propane stoves may be used for cooking and warmth but must be handled with extreme caution. All burning permits are suspended. The RFZ will be in place until further notice.

Lake Superior Provincial Park is included within this RFZ, even if it is not displayed when viewing RFZ areas on the interactive fire map.

If your municipality has also imposed a fire ban, you must comply with both the restricted fire zone (RFZ) and municipal fire ban.