SANDY LAKE — A massive, out-of-control forest fire is keeping firefighters busy as they work to protect Sandy Lake First Nation.
An evacuation order was issued for the remote community, located nearly 600 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay on Saturday, when flames from the fire, categorized as Red Lake 12, were spotted across the west arm of Sandy Lake and were spreading towards the community.
On Tuesday, Ministry of Natural Resources fire information officer Alison Lake said, starting late last week, the blaze dramatically increased in size. As of Tuesday, she said, it was over 158,000 hectares, roughly doubling in size from when the community was evacuated.
“Over the past few days, Red Lake 12 experienced growth, last week, due to a combination of dry forest fuels, warm air temperatures, low relative humidity, and was pushed by sustained westerly winds over a three-day period that shifted overnight on Friday,” Lake said.
The region did see some rain on Sunday and Monday, she said, slowing the spread of the fire. It remained about 6.5 kilometres from the community to the west as of Tuesday afternoon, Lake added.
“In Sandy Lake, we have fire ranger crews that are busy putting up sprinkler protection on infrastructure, the buildings of the community,” she said.
“Some of them are busy within the community itself, setting up a sprinkler line on infrastructure and buildings, and another set of fire rangers are on the western flank of the community.”
In total, 11 fire ranger crews are involved, Lake said.
The prevalence of thick smoke and some cloud cover has made it difficult to accurately map the fire’s perimeter, Lake said, as that is largely done using infrared scanning, which requires clearer conditions.
“We had a delay of about two, three days where we weren't able to see the perimeter of the fire,” she said.
The smoke is also affecting the use of waterbombers and helicopters to fight the fire, as well as “anybody trying to get into those communities,” Lake said.
“It's a bit of a concern.”
Hercules aircraft are being used to transport evacuees to Thunder Bay as the city is acting as a transportation hub. About 1,700 people are expected to come to the city before arriving at host cities in southern Ontario.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue deputy chief Dave Tarini told Newswatch the city cannot currently act as a host community because there is no availability in local hotels.
Deer Lake, another remote First Nation evacuated due to the same fire, is also being protected by firefighting crews, Lake said, adding “that perimeter is surrounding the community and it's holding.”
Overall, it’s been a battle, but Lake said firefighters are holding up.
“It's tiring work, but they are doing well and I hear that they are remaining encouraged,” she said.
“They know it's important and they're doing a great job.”
-With files from Leigh Nunan
