ATIKOKAN — A forest fire forced the closure of a section of Highway 11 in Northwestern Ontario.
Ontario 511 reported the closure of both lanes of the highway at 5:27 pm EDT Monday.
The road was blocked between Highway 623 at Sapawe and Highway 633 near Kawene.
According to witnesses at the scene, Ministry of Natural Resources waterbombers were working steadily on the fire.
The MNR estimated the fire had burned 180 hectares by 8:30 pm, and listed the outbreak as "not under control."
Traffic control was in place.
A witness reported at 7:00 pm that eastbound and westbound traffic was being allowed through the scene on an alternating basis.
By the end of the evening, the highway was fully reopened.
Pam Botham Gouliquer lives at Crystal Lake, about 15 minutes east of Atikokan and within an estimated one kilometre of the fire.
She told Newswatch she heard the fire began when strong wind knocked a tree onto a power line.
"The waterbombers are actually filling up right in front of our place, just outside my bay on Crystal Lake. They've been going all day. They're doing a really good job.
Botham Gouliquer and her family were initially pretty nervous about the proximity of the fire, which was throwing up huge quantities of smoke.
"We just lost our home in Atikokan to a fire last summer. I was in tears. I was ready to have a panic attack because I thought I was losing this house. It was very scary."
At 8:00 pm she said her concern had waned as there wasn't nearly as much smoke, but she said the fire was still burning.
Botham Gouliquer said she hopes residents and travellers take extra care right now because of the elevated fire hazard in the region.
"It's pretty dry out here. All I can say is if you have a cigarette, please don't throw it out your window onto the highway. Things can happen so fast. It's a very dangerous thing."
NOTE: This story was updated at about 8:30 pm to include additional information and photos provided by Pam Botham Gouliquer
