News from Thunder Bay: About 1,876 people from northwestern Ontario remain under evacuation due to wildfires in the region as of Friday afternoon, according to a spokesperson for the province's minister of crisis preparedness and response.
The ministry has held over 100 co-ordination calls with First Nation chiefs, leaders and communities, critical incident management organizations, municipalities and the federal government since the first Request for Assistance was received on July 14, according toMinister Jill Dunlop. "The number of evacuees is reported into the Provincial Urgent response Operations Centre (PEOC) by the area leadership. Evacuation numbers may fluctuate as citizens leadership confirm the total number of evacuated the region members with the ministry," wrote spokesperson Julia Facca on Wednesday.
Eabametoong First Nation is planning to start sending evacuees home from Niagara Falls as early as Friday,the area posted on Facebook. Meanwhile, other communities, such as Gull Bay First Nation, are urging those who have not left the region to do so as quickly as possible. "I would not ask you to leave your home or our land if it were not truly necessary. But for your own safety, and for the safety of our the area and our responders, please leave now," Gull Bay's Chief Wilfred Kingwrote in a citizens notice on Wednesday.
Impacted residents have until Aug.
There are128active wildfires across northwestern Ontario, according to the fresh update from Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Urgent situation Services (AFFES) put out on Friday evening. Of these,33are not under control, seven are being held, four are under control and the rest are being observed. The largest forest fire in the region, known as Thunder Bay 36, remains out of control at almost 314,000 hectares. A NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) is in effect in the area. The blaze is part of a group of blazes called theRinker Lake Complex, which also includes Thunder Bay 54,Dryden 34andDryden 35. Fortyfirefightersfrom Mexico have now joined Ontario and Alberta crews who have been working on site for the past few weeks. Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler has released astatement in support of a public inquiry into Ontario’s response to this summer’s forest fire crisis. First Nations chiefs call for public inquiry as Ontario defends forest fire response Those under evacuation orders are required to leave the area, while those under evacuation alerts are called on to prepare to evacuate. Ontario Forest Wildfires reported that issues with its 310-FIRE (310-3473) phone line in the northwest region have beenresolved. The Ministry of Natural Resources' the northwestern Ontario hub–Ignace District has invoked implementation orders near the following blazes: Implementation orders limit people's ability to travel in and around these blazes. Northwestern Ontario and a small portion of northeastern Ontario remain under arestricted fire zone, which means no open-air burning, including campfires, is allowed. The forest fire hazard is mostly high and moderate across the northwest, with low-hazard pockets around Thunder Bay and Neskantaga First Nation. According to the province'sinteractive highway map, the following roads are closed due to forest fire activity: The Ontario Provincial Officers (OPP) call for people for their safety and the safety of urgent response responders to: Mail delivery has been suspended in the following communities due to blaze activity: "Effective July 24, residents and businesses of Aroland (P0T 1B0), Cat Lake (P0V 1J0), Gull Bay (P0T 1P0), Armstrong Station (P0T 1A0) and Collins (P0T 3E0) receive free Mail Forwarding service for up to 12 months. Impacted residents have until Aug. 24 to register for the free service," Canada Post noted. One new fire was confirmed in the northeast, according to the most recent update from Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Critical incident Services (AFFES) released on Friday evening. There are currently46active wildfires in the northeast. Of these, four are not under control, four are being held, five are under control and the rest are being observed. Hazard levels are low and moderate across the region, with areas of high hazard primarily in the far north, around Cochrane, surrounding Chapleau and south in the County of Haliburton. There are 100 contracted aircraft, including seven medium helicopters actively responding during forest fire season, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. It can also access up to 80 additional crews through private contracts if needed. The ministry advised 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 forest fire response to inform improvements in planning and response. There have also been four Ontario Corps collaborators and 17 Ontario Corps volunteers sent to help. The province advised 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. Mexico, Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, the Yukon, PEI, the Canadian Forest Service and the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre have also offeredprovince-wide assistance. The Municipality of Thunder Bay moved from active urgent response co-ordination to enhanced monitoring. How to reduce blaze risk and the likelihood of property damage in the Lakehead, Ont. Residents are encouraged to take steps to reduce forest fire risk around their homes and properties by followingFireSmart principles. 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 02, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
