Thunder Bay, Ontario — With weather conditions improving and fire behaviour slowing, residents of Upsala are returning home following a voluntary evacuation last week.
"The weather has cooled. the humidity is up," shared Upsala fire chief Doug Kiezebrink. "Winds are maybe still a bit of a problem." Kiezebrink called the fire — Fort Frances 14, which at one point was burning a few kilometres from Upsala — a "sleeping dragon to the south, hopefully that never becomes resurrected." "Most of the people have returned from a voluntary evacuation," he advised.
"We never were under mandatory evacuation, and so people are trying to find some normalcy in their life and they've come back to the town for the most part." "Not everybody's back. But you know, right now it kind of looks like business as usual. However, we're just one hot day and that turn of wind away from being back in the thick of it." Kiezebrink remarked Upsala's volunteer fire department hasn't been doing any suppression of the Fort Frances 14 fire, which was listed as being nearly 52,000 hectares in size as of Tuesday afternoon. "The only thing we have done is assist homeowners in erecting sprinklers on private residences with private equipment," Kiezebrink advised.
Kimbell declared temperatures will be around normal, with highs of about 24 C expected in Thunder Bay on Wednesday; the normal daytime high for this time of year is 25 C.
"I've been after the MNR trying to get some equipment to put further value protection on. various buildings in Upsala." "However, there is none to go around and actually the [Ontario Fire Marshal's Office] is in the midst of procuring some, and hopefully in the next few days we'll get more and we'll start to deploy that." While much of the northwest region did see a fair amount of rainfall in recent days, there isn't much in the way of further precipitation expected in the short-term. Peter Kimbell, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, shared most areas saw between 15 and 20 mm of rain within the last 24 to 48 hours. Kimbell declared temperatures will be around normal, with highs of about 24 C expected in Thunder Bay on Wednesday; the normal daytime high for this time of year is 25 C. But there's "not a lot" of precipitation expected for the rest of the week, he stated. "The recent rain has contributed to decreased fire intensity on many of the fires in the region, leading to fewer instances of extreme fire behaviour," Colin Tomchick, crisis managementadvisorwith Aviation, Forest Fire and Urgent situation Services declared in an email to CBC News. "Lower fire intensity also gives fire crews an opportunity to improve control lines and can improve visibility for firefighting aircraft." However, the exact impact rain can have on a forest fire depends on several factors, he wrote, including how much rain falls, how long it lasts, the condition of forest fuels prior to the rainfall, and any other meteorological conditions that accompany the rain. "It’s essential to note that rain does not automatically extinguish a forest fire," Tomchick stated. "Light or short periods of rain may only wet the surface, while larger fuels and deeper organic soils can continue to burn beneath it. Fires can become more active once fuels dry out and warm, dry conditions return." "While there may be less visible smoke and fewer visible flames at this time due to recent rainfall and a reduction in overall fire behaviour, these fires remain active. As hot and dry conditions return, visible smoke and fire activity are expected to surge once again." Kris Ketonen is a reporter with CBC Thunder Bay. Send story ideas to kris.ketonen@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 · 🗓️ July 23, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
