Weather, Closures, Forest Fires

Due to current wildfire conditions, access through the road closure requires an official escort. There will be two escorted trips per day. Southbound (Pickle Lake to Hwy 516 Junction) Trip 1: Departs 10:30 a.m. Meet at Airport Road / Hwy 599 (Pickle Lake) Trip 2: Departs 8:30 p.m. (20:30) Meet at Airport Road / Hwy 599 (Pickle Lake) Northbound (Hwy ...

Jul 17, 2026 at 21:22 Updated MNR Report: July 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) An evacuation alert has been issued by Dryden Fort Frances Atikokan District due to the evolving situation and increased fire behaviour of wildland Fire Fort Frances 39 and Minnesota’s ‘Thumb Fire’. People residing or utilizing the area near the fires, located within Ontario, are ...

Jul 17, 2026 at 21:22 Updated MNR Report: July 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) An evacuation alert has been issued by Dryden Fort Frances Atikokan District due to the evolving situation and increased fire behaviour of multiple wildland fires including Fort Frances 14, Fort Frances 15 and Fort Frances 38. People residing or utilizing the area near ...

Updated: July 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) A total of 7 new wildland fires were discovered in the Northwest Region since the previous update. Nipigon 67 (NIP067) was confirmed in the evening hours of July 16, approximately 7 kilometres west of Crib Extension Road, southeast of Cavell Lake. The 5.0-hectare fire is not under control. Nipigon 68 (NIP068) was confirmed in ...

Jul 18, 2026 at 21:22 Updated MNR Report: July 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) An expanded Evacuation Alert has been issued for areas within the Thunder Bay-Ignace District near the active wildland fire, Fort Frances 14. This is not an Evacuation Order. Residents in the newly identified alert areas are strongly encouraged to prepare for a possible ...

Updated: July 17, 2026 at 7:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) One wildland fire was confirmed last night after the update was issued: Cochrane 42 (COC042) is 1 hectare in size and is being held. This fire is located approximately 3 kilometres southeast of Fox River and 8 kilometres north of Bannerman Lake. 20 new wildland fires were confirmed in the Northeast Region ...

Effective Saturday, July 18th, 2026, at 12:01 am, a FULL FIRE BAN has been issued for Lake Superior Provincial Park. This means no open fires are permitted within the park at any time until further notice. Fire hazard conditions are monitored daily and fire bans are lifted as soon as conditions improve. Visitors are encouraged to monitor our website alerts ...

Jul 17, 2026 at 12:49 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 ...

Environment Canada continues the Orange Alert for the area. Smoke from wildfires in northwestern Ontario is causing very poor air quality and reduced visibility. Poor air quality may persist into the weekend. Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can change rapidly over short distances and from hour to hour. During heavy smoke conditions, everyone’s health is at risk ...

We are continuing to respond to active wildland fires across the province. With new fires confirmed over the past 24 hours, there are currently 177 active fires. Key updates on some fires of note in the Northwest Region: Fort Frances 14 & 15 – were both remapped at 55,106.3 and 48,261.4 hectares. Dryden 36 – Dryden 36 has now merged with ...

An expanded Evacuation Alert has been issued for areas within the Thunder Bay-Ignace District near the active wildland fire, Fort Frances 14. This is not an Evacuation Order. Residents in the newly identified alert areas are strongly encouraged to prepare for a possible evacuation and be ready to leave on short notice if conditions change. Please be advised that all ...

Updated: July 16, 2026 at 7:45 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) One wildland fire was confirmed last night after the update was issued: Cochrane 42 (COC042) is 1 hectare in size and is being held. This fire is located approximately 3 kilometres southeast of Fox River and 8 kilometres north of Bannerman Lake. 20 new wildland fires were confirmed in the Northeast Region ...

Jul 16, 2026 at 21:21 Updated: July 16, 2026 at 6:47 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) A total of 5 new wildland fires were discovered in the Northwest Region by the evening of July 16. Nipigon 63 (NIP063) is located near the northwest end of Onaman Lake. The 0.1-hectare fire is not under control. Nipigon 64 (NIP064) is located approximately 7.3 kilometers northeast of Jobrin ...

Jul 16, 2026 at 21:21 Evacuation Order – Fort Frances 14 All persons must immediately evacuate the area indicated on the attached map unless authorized by a travel permit issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources. All persons are prohibited from entering the area indicated on the attached map unless authorized by a travel permit issued by the Ministry of ...

July 16, 2026, Issued: 7:10 PM FIRE STATUS – WAWA 17 Wawa 17 remains active and has grown to approximately 25 hectares in size. Throughout the day, MNR has been aggressively attacking the fire with water bombers and has advised that ground crews will continue suppression efforts tomorrow. COMMUNITY THREAT ASSESSMENT At this time, the fire does not pose a ...