DEER LAKE — Waterbombers and birddog aircraft were responding to the Red Lake 12 fire near the airport of Deer Lake First Nation on Wednesday as the community north of Red Lake staged an evacuation.
The Ministry of Natural Resources reported on its Ontario Forest Fires Facebook page that the fire “has quickly grown in size to 100 hectares and community officials are guiding residents to a safe zone near the bay close to the nursing station.”
A fire situation update posted by the ministry Wednesday evening said the Red Lake 12 blaze is “not under control and received multiple air attack missions throughout the afternoon and early evening.”
A Facebook user said float planes and helicopters were being used for the evacuation at Deer Lake because the airport was rendered unusable by the nearby fire.
Deer Lake First Nation has an on-reserve population of about 1,100, according to the federal government’s Crown-Indigenous relations department.
