Thunder Bay, ON — The fires have caused evacuations, highway and road closures, air quality warnings, event cancellations, and other issues for the communities and people in the region.
A number of other communities and areas have been notified about potential evacuations, including: The Township of Gillies has declared a state of crisis due to fires within a kilometre of its border. According to the province's Aviation, Forest Fire and Crisis Services (AFFES), eight new wildfires were discovered in the northwest as of Wednesday evening. AFFES remarked Dryden 13 and several fires in the Thunder Bay region have merged with the northwestern Ontario hub 36, a large fire in Wabakimi.
Municipalities in the region — including the Lakehead of Thunder Bay, Oliver Paipoonge, Neebing, and Shuniah — have also implemented fire bans. The Community of the Lakehead has temporarily closed all outdoor pools, beaches and splash pads, the Chapples and Strathcona golf courses and all outdoor marina services. Parks and playfields remain open, but will not be staffed while these measures are in place, and whenever possible, staff are moving programs and activities indoors. Residential curbside garbage collection will continue, but the municipality declared there may be delays.
Thursday's Summer in the Parking Lot concert at the Superior Inn has also been cancelled.
Business and multi-residential garbage collection has been temporarily suspended. The Centennial Botanical Conservatory, and all washroom facilities in public parks, have also been closed. Essential the Lakehead services, like transit urgent response services, and critical public works operations will continue without interruption. All non-critical outdoor operations and programs have been temporarily suspended. Thursday's Summer in the Parking Lot concert at the Superior Inn has also been cancelled. Thursday night's Thunder Bay Border Cats game against the Wausau Woodchucks as been postponed. The two teams are now scheduled to play a doubleheader at Port Arthur Stadium on Friday. The Thunder Bay District Health Unit is also making changes to its services on Thursday due to poor air quality. "Routine client-facing services are suspended for Thursday, July 16, and Friday, July 17. Staff will contact clients with existing appointments to reschedule them," the health unit declared in a media release. "The main office at 999 Balmoral Street will close to the public beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, and will remain closed through Friday, July 17." Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources shared on Wednesday that several hundred wildland firefighters are working in northwestern Ontario. The federal government has also deployed three firefighting helicopters to the region. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered onCBC Gem..
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📍 Source: CBC News Thunder Bay · By: CBC News Staff · 🗓️ July 20, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
