News from Thunder Bay: About 2,000 evacuees from across northwestern Ontario have returned home since a surge of blaze activity in mid-July.
Still, about 829 people remain displaced as of Friday, according to spokespersons at Ontario’s Ministry of Critical incident Preparedness and Response. This summer’s wildfires saw the evacuation of well over a dozen communities in the region, mostly consisting of First Nations, as well as the total destruction of two communities:Namaygoosisagagun First Nation(also known as Collins First Nation) andWhitewater Lake First Nation. As blaze threats have eased in much of the region, Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (also known as Gull Bay First Nation) lifted its state of urgent response from mid-July on Wednesday, with chief and council encouraging evacuees to return home.
Last week, Gull Bay’s Chief Wilfred King decried the Ontario government's withdrawal of forest fire implementation and evacuation orders around the local residents, saying“our members are still at risk and our infrastructure is at risk.” Though King hadcautioned against premature optimismover reduced forest fire hazards, he and two band councillors were able to assess the situation in a helicopter on Tuesday morning. “Although there were some hot spots, we were informed that MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) was making sure that the west side of those blazes were being manned properly,” King told CBC News on Thursday. “We didn't see big blazes or a lot of smoke, so we were confident that things have improved dramatically.” Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek 'vehemently' opposes Ontario ending forest fire implementation, evacuation orders That confirmed, King iscontinuing to advocate for a public inquiry into the province’s forest fire responsedue to apprehension over lack of communication with First Nation leaders and inadequate urgent situation preparedness measures. “There are some things initially that happened a month ago that still needs to be addressed,” King remarked.
There are just under 140 wildfires burning across Ontario, the majority of which are in the northwest.
Gull Bay First Nation is an Ojibway the area about 215 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. About 370 people live there. While road access to Gull Bay has been restored, Highway 527 between Kopka River and Armstrong remains closed in both directions, as well as a large section of Highway 811, due to nearby wildfires. There are just under 140 wildfires burning across Ontario, the majority of which are in the northwest. The closest blazes to Gull Bay First Nation are: “FireRanger crews from Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Ontario continue suppression efforts across the Rinker Lake Wildland Fire Complex today,” Aviation, Forest Fire and Critical incident Services declared in its newest update Thursday evening. “Approximately 60 firefighters from Mexico are expected to arrive over the next two days and will join crews on the fireline, providing additional capacity to support ongoing suppression efforts. Fire activity across the Rinker Lake wildland fire complex remains low.” Ontario wildfires accounted for highest area burned in recent history, says U.K. study of Canadian weather This First Nation in Ontario cautions against premature optimism over blaze threats Blaze hazards range from low to high across the region, with areas of high hazard primarily in the Kenora and Dryden fire management sectors. Meanwhile, almost all evacuees from Gull Bay have returned home “and everybody was responsible.” “Nobody was injured, no property was [damaged], so we're quite happy with the end result of everything,” King noted. However, he reminds people that the official blaze season doesn’t end until Oct. “We're just telling members to be vigilant, and if we need to evacuate again, we will do so.” Sarah Law is a CBC News reporter based in Thunder Bay, Ont., and has also worked for newspapers and online publications elsewhere in the province. Have a story tip? You can reach her at sarah.law@cbc.ca. 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 · 🗓️ August 14, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
