Residents of Thunder Bay are learning that There are 108 active wildfires in northwestern Ontario, according to the newest report published Wednesday night from Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Urgent situation Services (AFFES).
Of those, 10 are not under control, six are being held, 12 are under control and the rest are being observed. Four new wildfires were also confirmed in the northwest region as of Wednesday evening: The forest fire hazard is mostly low and moderate across northwestern Ontario, but there are significant areas of high hazard across southwestern parts of the region, including throughout the Thunder Bay and Kenora districts. "Over the past month, Ontario has been dealing with a number of complex blazes, particularly in the Quetico area, along the Canada-U.S.
border and in Wabakimi north of Lake Nipigon, following a large scale lightning storm that passed through the region," noted Mike Harris, minister of Natural Resources, at a Tuesday press conference. Crews, pilots, urgent situation responders and support staff have remained focused on keeping people secure, Harris added. "We have more than 150 Ontario fire crews supported by nearly 100 aircraft, including over 80 helicopters and water bombers, working closely with collaborators from across Canada and North America," Harris declared. Over the coming days and weeks, he stated Ontario will likely see some of its organizations start to reposition their resources back to their home regions — some having already gone back to Alberta and now been repositioned out to British Columbia.
12, meaning all travel and use of roads and lakes in this area is permitted.
As of Tuesday, 14 communities have been evacuated, six have returned home and one is in the process of returning its members home, according to Jill Dunlop, minister of Urgent situation Preparedness and Response, who spoke at the Tuesday press conference alongside Harris. To date, Dunlop advised the ministry has held 113 coordination calls with First Nation chiefs, citizens leaders, critical incident management organizations, municipalities and the federal government. Those under evacuation orders are required to leave the area, while those under evacuation alerts are recommended to prepare to evacuate. "My ministry is also conducting assessment flights to document property damage and loss. Impacted property owners can contact 211 to receive information from our ministry staff and support on the next steps," Harris shared. He advised that the ministry is also currently working closely with Namaygoosisagagun First Nation to restore the road back to the landing on the lake, which goes into the citizens, and ministry engineers are doing some work on its first bridge to try and expedite construction. The ministry is also working with camps, tourist operators and similar stakeholders to try and get them back to assess damages, Harris added. Northwestern Ontario and a small portion of northeastern Ontario remain under arestricted fire zone, which means no open-air burning, including campfires, is allowed. Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAMs, have also been published for the Lakehead region 36 and Fort Frances 14. However, updates have been made to the implementation order currently in effect for active the city 36, 56 and Dryden 34, 35 in the Thunder Bay–Ignace District on Friday, removingsome areas previously included. The Ministry of Natural Resources Thunder Bay-Ignace District has revoked an implementation order for areas near Fort Frances 14 as of Aug. 12, meaning all travel and use of roads and lakes in this area is permitted. The province advised blaze suppression activities are ongoing on the fire, but public safety relating to these wildfires is no longer a concern. The evacuation alerts around active forest fire Fort Frances 13, known as the "Little Knife" fire in Minnesota, have been lifted. The AFFES stated suppression efforts are ongoing on Fort Frances 13, but there is no longer any apprehension for public safety relating to the blazes. Restrictions remain for other wildfires in the area. According to the province'sinteractive highway map, the following roads are closed due to blaze activity: The Ontario Provincial Law enforcement (OPP) push for people for their safety and the safety of critical incident responders to: Mail delivery has been suspended in the following communities due to forest fire activity: There are currently 44 active wildland wildfires in the northeast region. Of those, one is not under control, two are being held, three are under control and 38 are being observed. Forest fire danger ratings are primarily low and moderate across northeastern Ontario, with some high-hazard pockets in the south around Sault Ste. Marie and French River. The ministry noted it is providing an additional $650 million to buy six new waterbombers and five new helicopters. It has also added 170 new permanent fire personnel positions, including crew lead roles, and increased compensation for staff, including firefighters and pilots. The ministry will conduct an after-action review of its blaze response to inform improvements in planning and response. There have also been four Ontario Corps organizations and 17 Ontario Corps volunteers sent to help. In addition to reception centres set up in the Lakehead and Dryden, the province confirmed the following equipment/supplies have been provided: Air purifiers, air scrubbers and replacement filters, in particular, were sent to five First Nations, allowing them to remain in their communities. As part of these efforts, Feed Ontario and the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres are also shipping and distributing food to evacuees. In addition, the Kaministiquia and Upsala fire departments were among some regional fire services to receive wildland fire skids from GlobalMedic. 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 13, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
