Fourteen new forest fires were reported in the northwest on Tuesday, including a 97-hectare fire burning 25 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay.

The provincial interactive fire map shows 20 fires still burning in the region as of Wednesday morning. The largest is Kenora 27, which was listed as being not under control and 2,600 hectares. That fire is burning 52 kilometres north of Kenora.

The province's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services agency said the fire hazard is high to extreme across the region.

There are also two fires burning in the Thunder Bay area:

• Thunder Bay 8, not under control at 97 hectares, located off Saari Road, 25 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay.
• Thunder Bay 10, not under control at five hectares, burning near Dog Lake.

Thunder Bay 9, meanwhile, is burning north of Dog Lake, and is listed as being not under control at five hectares.

Elsewhere in the region, fire crews were setting up sprinklers on structures near Kenora 25, which is not under control at 300 hectares, and burning east of Kenora, around North Narrow Lake.

There are two other fires in that area: Kenora 26, 150 hectares and not under control, and Kenora 29, one hectare and not under control.

A number of other fires are burning close to northwestern Ontario communities, as well:

• Fort Frances 6 is burning 23 kilometres north of Rainy River, and listed as not under control at 12.3 hectares.
• Thunder Bay 7 is burning near the community of Collins, about 30 kilometres west of Armstrong. It's listed as not under control at 0.6 hectares.
• Dryden 14 is located west of Chancellor Lake, about 37 kilometres southwest of Dryden. That fire is not under control at 0.3 hectares.
• Dryden 15 is under control at 0.1 hectares, and is located about 32 kilometres west of Dryden, near Eagle Lake.

For a full list of fires currently burning in the region, visit Ontario's interactive forest fire map.

The number of fires burning in northwestern Ontario on Wednesday prompted Environment Canada to issue air quality statements for the Kenora, Pickle Lake, Red Lake, Pikangikum, and Sioux Lookout areas.

<back to Headlines