THUNDER BAY – Twenty-nine new forest fires were discovered in the Northwest Region by late afternoon on Wednesday.
There are currently 97 fires active in the region.
Four of the new fires were found in the Thunder Bay sector, according to a release issued by Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services.
Of those fires, Thunder Bay 73, at 0.1 hectares and located near Pearl, is listed as not under control.
A dozen of the new fires were found in the Kenora sector, including a cluster of four 37 kilometres west of Perrault Falls. Three more are located north of Kakagi Lake, some 84 kilometres southeast of Kenora.
Red Lake sector had seven new fires start, while Sioux Lookout and Nipigon sectors had two new starts each and Forest Frances sector had three.
Fires of note include Kenora 51, which at 84,545 hectares is not under control and is being fought by 21 crews, with the aid of 13 helicopters.
Red Lake 65 is also not under control and sits at 11,942 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon. It’s located about 10 kilometres west of Poplar Hill First Nation, whose residents have been evacuated because of ongoing air quality concerns, as well as the proximity of the fire.
Red Lake 68, a 21,356-hectare fire, is being fought by six crews southeast of Pringle Lake, while Red Lake 77 is not under control at 19,251 hectares, burning about 36 kilometres west of Red Lake.
As a result of all the fire activity, a restricted fire zone has been put in place across Northwestern Ontario.
