KENORA — Wildland firefighters with the Ministry of Natural Resources continue to battle a large forest fire northwest of Kenora that’s expected to spread toward a First Nation in the area.
The over-250-hectare blaze, designated Kenora fire 14 by the MNR, was burning about 12 kilometres north of Wabaseemoong Independent Nations Friday afternoon, said Chris Marchand, a fire information officer with the ministry’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services Northwest Regional Fire Centre in Dryden.
“Today, the wind is shifted to come from the northwest, which is expected to change the direction of that fire's advance in a southeasterly direction,” he told Newswatch in an interview. “It is moving in the direction of the community — while there's no imminent threat to the townsite itself, there's some extreme fire behaviour that is challenging efforts to contain this fire.”
“And it is expected to grow closer to the community today.”
Marchand said fire management officials have met with Wabaseemoong leadership to brief them about firefighting efforts, the effects of smoke and to start planning for any potential evacuations.
On Friday, the MNR was using a total of four water bombers, three helicopters which were bucketing water, as well as six fire ranger crews. An additional six fire crews were being mobilized, he said, and were expected to be on site Friday and Saturday.
The fire was not under control on Friday, Marchand said.
The blaze was also largely responsible for a lot of smoke in the area. On Friday, the Ministry of Natural Resources also issued a “special advisory” about the smoke, saying it is affecting air quality “as winds from the northwest push the smoke south.”
People can track smoke forecasts from active fires at FireSmoke.ca and those worried about health impacts can contact Telehealth Ontario at 811.
“We've certainly heard from residents in the Kenora area today that there is smoke affecting the community,” Marchand said.
The fire also was responsible for the closure of Highway 525 — as of Friday afternoon, the route had reopened, according to Ontario 511.
Water bombing on Thursday appeared to have little effect on the flames as the fire continued to grow in size, Marchand said.
The cause of the blaze is still unknown.
