Increased fire activity expected over the coming days: City of Thompson

Firefighting crews in Thompson and Snow Lake are making progress in battling large wildfires.

The City of Thompson said nearby wildfires intensified on Wednesday, which is expected to continue over the coming days.

Three wildfires near the northern city—fires NO050, NO061 and NO062— “heated up and saw increased fire activity,” according to a Facebook post Thursday from the city.

The post noted “crews made good progress” Wednesday on the southern portion of Fire NO061 to the east of Mystery Lake, with two helicopters bucketing the area. The out-of-control fire was 14 kilometres away from the city and about 18,365 hectares in size on Tuesday, per the province.

Helicopters will continue bucketing the fire, which has jumped the Burntwood River, according to the post. Mexican firefighting crews are also helping in the push to contain the flames.

The city said nine new fires started in the north region Wednesday.

Warm and dry conditions are expected to increase the fire activity over the coming days, per the post, with temperatures expected to be in the 25 C to 30 C range throughout the long weekend and into early next week.

Meanwhile, the Town of Snow Lake anticipates the nearby fire to continue pushing towards the northeast due to hot and dry weather.

According to the town’s website, Highway 395 is serving as a natural barrier to contain many kilometres of active fire line, eliminating the threat of the fire jumping to the south, where there is lots of “green fuel.”

The town said there was “significant growth” on the north end of Fire WE052 Wednesday, pushing flames to both the southern and northern shores of Squall Lake.

The fire line directly north of Snow Lake continues to be a high priority, according to the town.

The fire near Snow Lake is approximately 28,115 hectares in size and out of control.