Fire ban issued in northwestern Ontario ahead of long weekend

Northern Ont. wildfires escalate, forcing evacuations. Timmins Fire 1 & Sudbury 8 under control, Sioux Lookout 3 triggers emergency. High fire risk – officials

A fire ban is going into effect just after midnight Friday in northwestern Ontario, the Ministry of Natural Resources says.

“Due to the extreme forest fire hazard conditions and to reduce the number of human-caused fires, the MNR will be declaring a restricted fire zone effective Friday, May 16 at 12:01 a.m. local time for a portion of the northwest region (Zones 2, 3, 6, 7, 8)," the ministry said in a notice Thursday morning.

“The area impacted will be from the southwest corner of the U.S., Manitoba and Ontario border, north along the Manitoba border to west of the midway point of Weeskayjahk Ohtahzhoganeeng Provincial Park, east to north of Wabakimi Provincial Park, south along the western border of Wabakimi Provincial Park to the eastern border of Quetico Provincial Park until the U.S. border, then back west along the USA/Canada border to the Manitoba border.”

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Open-air burning, including campfires, is not allowed in the restricted fire zone and all burning permits are suspended until further notice.

“Portable gas or propane stoves may be used for cooking and warmth, but must be handled with extreme caution,” the ministry said.

Gas and fuel stoves that can be easily turned off by closing a shut-off valve or lid are permitted.

“The stove must be at least one metre away from any flammable material,” the ministry said.

“Once a Restricted Fire Zone is declared, it is illegal to set a fire for any purpose within the affected area unless specific conditions have been met.”

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The penalty for not complying with a fire ban is up to three months in jail, a fine of up to $25,000 and/or having to pay for any costs incurred in fighting a forest fire caused.

To report a fire in a restricted zone, contact the local MNR office.

Forest fire status

As of Thursday morning, Ontario has 18 forest fires burning, according to the MNR forest fire info map.

Five of those are new forest fires that started west of Thunder Bay Wednesday night.

The Kenora District has the most, with six wildfires, as well as the biggest at 23,281.4 hectares and growing.

Dryden, Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Sudbury have two wildfires each, while Fort Frances, Thunder Bay, Timmins and Haliburton each have one.