Forest fire briefly closes part of Highway 144 in northern Ontario

Highway 144 between Gogama and Timmins was closed for more than an hour Tuesday afternoon due to a forest fire near the road.

A new forest fire that started Tuesday afternoon prompted a brief closure of Highway 144 between the Watershed in Gogama and the Highway 101 intersection in Timmins.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s travellers’ website said the highway was closed in both directions shortly after 3 p.m.

Dubbed Timmins 1, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Forest Fire Info Map said it started at 3:30 p.m. and is currently 2.5 hectares, but not under control.

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According to the fire map, the fire is near the intersection of highways 144 and 661.

Holly Ranger Groulx told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca she is on the highway headed back to Timmins and shared a few photos of the smoke seen from the road.

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Groulx said she was at her camp near Gogama and left when she heard about the closure.

Waterbombers started attacking the blaze around 4:15 p.m., she said.

There are “a lot of people” travelling south on the road, she added.

Around 4:20 p.m., the road was reopened.

The fire danger rating surrounding the fire and including Mattagami First Nation is extreme, while other areas are high.

There is a second fire west of Highway 144 and Halfway Lake near the Pogamasing passenger rail station.

Dubbed Sudbury 6, it started Monday around 3:30 p.m. and is about 14 hectares in size.

It is also not yet under control.