The northwestern Ontario community is abuzz with news that Roughly 20 residents of Neebing, Ont., met with Neebing Critical incident Services (NES) on Saturday for a public information meeting to discuss worries on wildfire safety and property protection at Blake Local residents Hall.
“If you have farm animals, what do you do with them?” shared Anita Mirabelli, who attended the meeting to collect more information and become more aware of the municipality’s opportunities. “I’m just curious as to where does one go? Unless they have places of rescue,” she continued. How to reduce wildfire risk and the likelihood of property damage in Thunder Bay, Ont.
As wildfire season continues into August, Mirabelli also expressed concern over the lack of rain and spruce beetles in the municipality. “The spruce bug has done a lot of damage to the trees, which makes them more dry and cindery — ready for burning,” Mirabelli remarked. “We’ve never had to deal with anything like this. I’ve been in Neebing now for 30 years and I’ve never seen a season like we have now,” stated Brian Wright, the municipality’s councillor for Crooks and deputy mayor.
“A lot of what the public was worried about is [that] they didn’t get enough information,” shared Mark Shruiff, the fire chief of NES.
The people he has been talking to, Wright noted, are saying they’ve never realized how much the municipality values its fire department. “We have a few areas in Neebing that are kind of tricky because we have one way in and one way out. So the first question people have is how am I gonna get out of here if there’s a fire? So we always tell people to be prepared, have a way out,” Wright indicated. He declared he also mostly hears questions about what their fire department is doing, whether they need to be concerned, if they all have to evacuate and the wildfire situation. “The texts go out, make sure you pay attention. Don’t have any open campfires or anything till we get the word from Mark [Shruiff]. Just be aware, use common sense [and] just do what you have to do, but be careful,” Wright confirmed. On July 13, NES took command of THU058 after responding to amutual aid request in the Township of Gillies. The wildfire was roughly two kilometres south of Palisades Road and was determined to be within the west of the municipality’s boundary. Following a multi-agency response effort, involving five additional fire services and the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), NES declared thesix-hectare fire outon July 20. “A lot of what the public was worried about is [that] they didn’t get enough information,” shared Mark Shruiff, the fire chief of NES. There were also questions of why the municipality wasn’t in a state of critical incident, Shruiff continued. NES aimed to address these misgivings on Saturday, educating residents on wildfire information sources, how toaccess them, processes prior to a state of urgent response, how it is determined, what NES does, how it works within the MNR��’s mandate, joint fire suppression andFireSmartprinciples. “We have been much more vocal about telling people about FireSmart, which we were anyway, but now especially with our presentation that we’re going to do here today, it will really hit the point home,” Shruiff stated. Unfortunately, it is up to the homeowners as they’re the ones that have to do it, Shruiff indicated, but they will point them in the right direction and support in any way they can. “It’s a constant learning curve, right? What worked, what didn’t work [and] what can we do better for next time. So that’s where my mind is at right now… how can we as a group protect the Thunder Bay region,” Shruiff stated. All the surrounding fire services that worked with NES have been in constant contact, Shruiff added, meeting on Mondays and for any additional reasons after scaling back from meeting daily during the wildfire. Nonetheless, he encourages residents to keep an eye on provincial fire maps and ensure they get their information from reliable sources. “If they’re concerned about something, ask. Don’t just go into the chat rooms and the forums and stuff like that. Reach out to a reliable source, whether it be the municipal office or with the MNR — any of the provincial lines that they’re able to call,” Shruiff advised. Nicky Shaw is a reporter for CBC Thunder Bay. She graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism and a minor in Environmental and Climate Humanities from Carleton University. Aligning with her passion for covering global environmental and humanitarian issues, she has worked to develop in-depth multimedia content that shares the diverse experiences of people in Northwestern Ontario. 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 28, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
